ABSTRACT
Amenity, by contrast, relates to the group of problems which arise when changes in land use are proposed. The amenity value of land is another example of an externality which must be taken into account when conversion is under consideration. This chapter discusses the nature of this good and the problems which arise in assessing its value. Amenity value is a somewhat elusive concept. It is widely used in the land use context to include all benefits other than those arising from primary production. This definition would include recreational benefits as well as the satisfactions people absorb, more passively, from living in or driving through beautiful landscapes. The chapter concentrates on the non-recreational aspects of amenity. Inevitably such techniques begin by compiling estimates of the quantity of various attributes which would, together, add up to 'amenity'. These are then added together in some more or less arbitrary way.
