The Planner's Guide to Natural Resource Conservation:: The Science of Land Development Beyond the Metropolitan Fringe by Adrian X. Esparza Details
Most of the country's recent population growth is in urban areas. According to many accounts, suburbanization has become the dominant mode of land development in the country and there is…
Most of the country's recent population growth is in urban areas. According to many accounts, suburbanization has become the dominant mode of land development in the country and there is no indication that it will slow down in the foreseeable future (Theobald 2005; Brown et al., 2005; Glennon and Kretser 2005).
By definition, external development takes place outside the boundaries of major cities, often in rural and remote areas. The development of new communities in the suburbs is an increasing trend, especially in the West.
In this case, developers and homes look for large tracts of land, amounting to thousands of acres, in rural areas (usually 50 miles from a big city) where they plan for entire communities consisting of commercial uses, retail and residential land. Leisure facilities such as golf courses and hiking / biking trails are often included in these planned developments.
Our philosophy is reflected in the book's goals. First, we seek to document the extent and impact of external development throughout the country.
This highlights why planners and the general public should care about borders. We will demonstrate that although suburban expansion favors areas rich in areas, it affects all regions of the country through loss of agricultural land and rangelands, impact on watersheds and land modification.
A summary of environmental impacts, including land loss and agricultural productivity, land modification, soil erosion, impacts on terrestrial aquatic systems, loss of biodiversity, non-indigenous and threatened species and other topics is provided. Our second goal is to provide readers of diverse (non-scientific) backgrounds with practical knowledge of how nondescriptness affects ecosystems and why.
This is achieved by working closely to ensure that contributors follow a specific plan for each chapter. First, stakeholders will identify basic concepts, principles and processes that apply to their area of expertise (eg, riparian areas).
Contributors will overcome a fleeting understanding of environmental processes without confusing readers with the dense materials usually found in specialized texts. For this reason, visual elements and other support materials will be an integral part of each chapter.
We've carefully selected contributors based on their record as research scientists and apprentices as teachers. Second, once the mechanics are developed, the authors will explain how and why land development in neighboring areas affects ecosystems.
Issues of interdependence, adaptation, adaptation, spatial scale and different time horizons will emerge. Thirdly, contributors will affect the pros and cons of different land development schemes.
Fourthly, the authors will consider the advantages of conservation devices such as wildlife corridors, open space requirements and watershed management areas. Finally, each chapter will be concluded by identifying pitfalls to avoid and highlight "best practices" that would mitigate or avoid environmental problems altogether.
In short, after completing each chapter, readers must have a solid understanding of relevant concepts and processes, an understanding of current research and knowledge of how science applies to land use decisions.
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