The construction of green spaces in urban areas has shown to bring value to nearby properties. As this theory has held true for several multi-use trails constructed in cities in the United States, this paper uses the Champlain Canalway Trail, a multi-use trail in northeastern New York, as a case study to examine if housing prices respond similarly to the construction of multi-use trails in suburban and rural areas. Furthermore, this paper is used to test if theories of green gentrification also hold true outside of urban areas. A total of 8,619 house transactions conducted between 2005 to 2019 are used to conduct a spatial and difference-in-differences analysis to examine the effect of the construction and distance from the multi-use trail on the sales price of homes. The results of my research contradict previous green space theories and suggest that the construction of multi-use trails in suburban and rural areas can trigger a 17% decrease in the sales prices of houses within a half-mile from the trail, relative to the sales prices of houses two or more miles away. The results of this paper indicate that multi-use trails are unlikely to put urban and rural areas at risk of green gentrification.
