Urban amenities,demand revelation,and the free-rider problem: A partial solution

This paper suggests a practical mechanism to mitigate problems of demand revelation and free riding that arise when efforts are made to create urban amenities such as parks or nature preserves through voluntary private purchase. Building on the work of earlier writers, the model provides a potential way to increase voluntary donations for local public goods, holding constant the incentive to free ride, while simultaneously introducing a mechanism — the refundable trust — that reduces the incentive to free ride. A case involving implementation of this mechanism is described.