Poster Abstract Details

Author(s):
Troy Bowman, Jan Thompson, John Tyndall

Affiliation:
Iowa State University

Presentation Type:
Poster

Topic Area:
The relationship(s) between land-use policies and ecological processes/disturbances along urban-rural interfaces

Abstract Text:
Urban population expansion and declining household size over the last two decades have fueled urban growth across the United States. Given the immense landscape alterations that have occurred due to agricultural production on the majority of the landscape throughout the Midwest, these new impacts to natural land cover in the Midwest are of special concern. As urban land cover increases, the escalation in negative environmental effects associated with standard approaches to development has increased interest in the use of alternative design approaches that mitigate some of these effects. For residential development in particular, there are three major groups that influence subdivision design by developing, approving, and purchasing: developers, city staff, and residents. Many prior studies of residential subdivision designs have focused exclusively on residents and their purchasing decisions. In this case study, we used surveys , focus groups and experimental auctions in Ames, IA to examine developer, city staff, and resident perceptions of urban development in general, and low-impact (LID) and conservation subdivision design (CSD) features in particular. On average, developers and city staff both indicated the pace of residential development was too slow; residents, however, indicated that the pace of development was too fast. Residents also perceived that neither developers nor city staff members were effective in protecting the natural environment from the effects of development. On average, developers and city staff overestimated residents’ interest in homes associated with hypothetical LID and CSD neighborhoods. Both developers and city staff expressed interest in using LID and CSD approaches, and in most cases believed the amenities created by including LID and CSD features would add a premium to home prices. Developers, city staff and residents all preferred designs with LID and CSD elements (in particular, clustered housing with preserved forest systems and buffered urban streams) over designs with only standard subdivision features. Certain design elements (for example, culs –de-sac) were favored by developers and residents, but strongly discouraged by city staff. Other design features, such as neighborhood streams or clustered housing, were only preferred in combination with explicitly preserved open space or natural areas. This examination of developer, city staff, and resident perceptions will identify opportunities for implementation of LID/CSD approaches to development that will lead to a better balance between development and conservation of natural resources in urban fringe areas.