10.2190/HM4F-4DAU-PQXT-KMJ5 HM4F4DAUPQXTKMJ5 2 Asbestos Removal and Treatment Impacts on Housing and Urban Neighborhoods 123 131 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 HM4F4DAUPQXTKMJ5.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=HM4F4DAUPQXTKMJ5 2 Kevin Croke Edward Mensah Robert Fabian George Tolley School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago Department of Economics, University of Chicago Reducing the health hazard caused by the presence of asbestos in buildings is likely to give rise to costly adjustments in the nation's stock of buildings. This article focuses on the residential building stocks, and estimates the effects of several regulatory scenarios on building values, building life and the decision to convert buildings to high-income uses. We find that the value of low-income buildings is seriously eroded by the abatement scenarios analyzed. Conversion of buildings by rehabilitation is discouraged because values inclusive of rehabilitation costs are seriously reduced, and incentives to delay are introduced. Effects on building values in high-income neighborhoods are relatively less severe. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, <i>EPA Study of Asbestos-Containing Materials in Public Buildings</i>, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C., February, 1988. J. Strenio, BATTELLE, P. Constant, and D. Lentzen, <i>Asbestos in Buildings: A National Survey of Asbestos-Containing Friable Materials</i>, Office of Toxic Substances, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D. C., October, 1984. L. Smith, K. Rosen, and G. Fallis, Recent Developments in Economic Models of Housing Markets, <i>Journal of Economic Literature, 26</i>:1, pp. 31-32, 1988. R. Topel and S. Rosen, Housing Investment in the United States, <i>Journal of Political Economy, 96</i>:4, p. 738, 1988. R. S. Means Company, Inc., <i>Building Construction Cost Data</i>, 45th Edition, Kingston, Massachusetts, p. 18, 1987. E. Mills and B. Hamilton, <i>Urban Economics</i>, 3rd Edition, Scott, Foresmand and Company, Glenview, Illinois, p. 122, 1984. D. Dewees, <i>Controlling Asbestos in Buildings: An Economic Investigation</i>, Resources for the Future, Washington, D. C., pp. 57-98, 1986. L. Richman, Why Throw Money at Asbestos?, <i>Fortune</i>, pp. 157-170, June 6, 1988. U. S. Department of Commerce, <i>Statistical Abstract of the United States</i>, 107th Edition, Wasington, D. C., pp. 715-717, 1987.