Business Commons^™

All That Sprawl, Y’All: An Analysis Of Development On Steinwehr Avenue And York Street In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, From 1971 To 2014, Elizabeth K. Emmons, Kalley S. Hansel, Daly Simpson

Student Publications

The advent of the automobile transformed the American landscape in the 20th century. In conjunction with the increasing importance of the automobile, numerous post-WW II government programs such as the Interstate Highway System encouraged suburban sprawl. Towns and cities adjacent to tourist attractions, known as gateway communities, face unique problems caused by sprawl. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is an example of a gateway community as it includes the Gettysburg National Military Park. Two study sites, portions of Steinwehr Avenue and York Street, were studied to analyze the effects of sprawl in Gettysburg. The sites were analyzed using ArcGIS, data compiled from historic …

Issue Brief: Auditing Your Town's Development Code For Barriers To Sustainable Water Management, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

This issue brief is intended for town officials who want to understand how development regulations in their community affect local water resources. Municipal development codes – the set of regulations that control the built environment – can have a great influence on the availability of clean and healthy water for drinking, recreation, and commercial uses. This in turn affects the community’s social, environmental, and economic vitality.

Comprehensive plans, zoning codes, and building standards are just a few examples of regulations that intentionally or unintentionally regulate the way water is transported, collected and absorbed. Regulations that produce dispersed development or large …

Slides: Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies: A Light To The World, Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Jason B. Aamodt, Blake Feamster

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jason Aamodt, Attorney; Adjunct Professor, University of Tulsa

15 slides

Development Of Functional Indices Of Facility Occurrence Towards The Distribution Of Social Services In Lagos Island Nigeria., Augustus O. Atubi

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Proper coordination of transport and public facilities provision is vital to any balanced regional development strategy. The central aim of this study, therefore, is to find out what the relationship is between access to the transport network and the provision of functional indices of facility occurrence towards the distribution of social services in Lagos Island, Nigeria. In particular it seeks to find out areas that have below or above average level of facility occurrences relative to the level of accessibility. However, a pair wise correlation matrix of the eleven (11) variables employed in the index construction was carried out. The …

Slides: Engaging Stakeholders, Duane Zavadil

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Duane Zavadil, Bill Barrett Corporation

5 slides

Slides: Assessing Opportunities And Barriers To Reducing The Environmental Footprint Of Oil And Gas Development In Utah, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Lorien Belton, Brian Gentry, Gene Theodori

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Dr. Douglas Jackson-Smith, Utah State University--Logan Campus

37 slides

The Malawi Project: From Conventional To Holistic Decision Making, Grace Wetmore

Animal Science

How the Cal Poly Malawi Appropriate Technologies Team, and other development groups, can use Holistic Management to aid developing countries in an effort towards a sustainable future.

Land Conservation And Land Use In New England: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities, Amanda Loomis, Tom Devine, Andrea Small, Brittany Howard, Brett Richardson, Stephanie Dulac

Land Conservation

Sprawling development patterns accelerated across the New England landscape in the last three decades and consumed the region‘s forests, farms, and open spaces at an unprecedented rate. New England‘ers in all six states formed land trusts, supported statewide conservation organizations, and collaborated with state and federal partners to protect some of their most-prized recreation lands, wildlife habitats, and working lands. The current economic recession has slowed development pressures across the region and offers an opportunity to build on recent successes. The time is right to plan a coordinated New England conservation strategy that protects and links the region‘s natural assets. …

South Burlington Vt: New Urbanist South Village, Jack Kartez, Richard Barringer

Planning

The 220 acre master plan for South Village, the largest project in the City of South Burlington’s history, encompasses multiple housing types and innovative provisions for affordable housing. It integrates housing with open space and natural resource conservation, including a major Community Supported Agriculture project developed by a nonprofit partner, the Intervale Foundation. While not a mixed-use project (that is, commercial as well as residential development), South Village nonetheless represents a qualitative change in approach for South Burlington by incorporating large-scale open space preservation as part of development and multiple housing-types in one project. The case study recounts events leading …

Portland Me: Affordable Housing V. Open Space, Patrick Wright, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

Amid an acknowledged “affordable housing crisis”, a first-time developer approaches the City to release part of a tax-acquired property, promising a smart-growth development that would provide sorely needed starter homes for working families. The case highlights the complications of balancing competing interests in Portland ME. It shows where rational planning fails in the presence of strong neighborhood opposition, a disjointed city staff structure, and the absence of political will among City Councilors. It highlights the need for champions within local government when a project evokes competing interests. It demonstrates the extent to which “words matter” to policy outcomes, and who …

Brunswick Me: De-Militarizing The Bnas, Anne Holland, Brett Richardson, Richard Barringer

Planning

Closure of the Brunswick Naval Air Station in 2011 will have profound economic impacts on the entire mid-coast Maine region of Maine, with an estimated loss of 6,500 jobs and $330 million annual income. Throughout the Base Realignment and Closure process, Brunswick, the region, and the State of Maine followed federal rules and developed the federally-funded Brunswick Local Redevelopment Authority (BLRA) to plan for reuse of the 3300 acre base. In its planning process, the BLRA adhered to a number of well thought-out Guiding Principles, including the use of extensive public participation and the consideration of “smart growth” principles and …

The Growing Together Guide: A Companion Resource To The New England Environmental Finance Center/Melissa Paly Film, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

What local leader or public official wants to be faced with an SOS the “same old story” of public discord and confrontation over growth and development in one’s community? That situation has become a problem for efforts to promote smart growth. Investments are needed in the walkable, compact, traditional‐streetscape and mixed use neighborhoods and developments that are more sustainable and healthy than sprawl, for both people and the landscape. Yet attempts at such change all too often end up mired in costly public controversy and stalemate.

South Kingstown Ri: New Zoning For An Historic Mill, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer

Planning

The village of Peace Dale in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, developed around several mills that commenced operations in the 1800s. One mill, known as the Palisades, is still partially active and in excellent condition, but much of its square footage is unutilized. A citizens’ group of artists and business people joined with the mill owners and the town of South Kingstown to develop new zoning regulations to make more flexible the permitted uses for the mill site. The proposed zoning will allow the mill complex to feature a mix of retail, residential, and manufacturing uses, while preserving …

Amherst Ma: A New Village Plan For Atkins Corner, Maggie Jones, Richard Barringer

Planning

The case study describes a successful smart growth initiative in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, at an intersection known as Atkins Corner. The initiative grew from two motivating factors: the necessity of realigning Route 116, a major north-to-south artery through the town, to decrease traffic accidents at the intersection and improve pedestrian safety; and a desire on the part of Hampshire College and the Town to create a village center at the intersection. Through a consensus-building process involving key town officials, Hampshire College, neighbors, and the design firm of Dodson Associates, agreement on the project was reached with local stakeholders …

Trust, Collaboration, And Financial Return In Conservation/Development Partnerships, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

In early 2002 the New England Environmental Finance Center hosted a series of roundtable discussions among municipal officials, residential developers, land trust representatives, and others about "Innovative Approaches to Land Conservation and Smart Growth". Among our observations was that for many of the over 20 conservation/development partnerships we discussed in the series, creation and maintenance of trust was central to success or failure of various stages of the partnership. This suggested a link between creation of trust and financial return for traditionally opposed project partners.

To further examine this matter, we interviewed 11 round table participants and asked questions about …

Model State Land Use Legislation For New England, New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Legislation

Sprawl is neither the ordained nor the inevitable outcome upon the New England landscape. A coordinated response to sprawl by the public and private sectors is possible, and could dramatically improve land use patterns and reduce the cost of local government. For the New England states, such a response would include, among other elements, legislation to eliminate existing gaps in the land use laws of each state – gaps that presently encourage or sanction sprawling development. It would also include incentives for municipalities to think beyond their borders and to act with greater efficiency and effect. It is the purpose …

Smart Growth And Land Acquisition Priorities: A Cursory Review, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

It is well-known and generally accepted that all undeveloped land in New England cannot forever be protected from development; nor would this be a desirable goal, as continued economic development and population growth are near certainties. For these and other reasons, private land trusts and government agencies generally use explicit criteria to prioritize their land acquisition activities and prospects.

Guiding Growth: A Survey Of Tax Incentives, New England Environmental Finance Center, Muskie School Of Public Service

Legislation

Current development patterns and increased tax pressures in local municipalities combine to harm both Maine’s natural resources and its quality of life. Previous initiatives such as the implementation of zoning laws did not fully result in the desired outcomes. Zoning laws were often too flexible and often did not resist market and political pressures to change zoning regulations to allow development with possible economic growth. A sound taxation system or fee structure may be the solution to slow down development in natural areas and direct it towards areas appropriate for growth.

To protect Maine’s natural resources more successfully from future …

Roundtable Series On Innovative Approaches To Land Conservation And Smart Growth, New England Environmental Finance Center

Smart Growth

A series of six roundtable discussions was conducted by the New England Environmental Finance Center (NE/EFC) from January through May 2002, one in each New England state. The objectives of the series were to consolidate expertise in financing and coordinating projects that combine conservation and development on the landscape, and to identify key areas of unmet need that could be addressed by the NE/EFC. Each discussion entailed several case study presentations and facilitated discussion about what works, what doesn’t work, and what might work in financing and coordinating efforts that combine conservation and development. Key areas of opportunity that emerged …

An Economic Valuation Of The Jandakot Wetlands, Paul Gerrans

Research outputs pre 2011

Economists implore the efficient allocation of resources. Paradoxically, where the issue of efficiency has become critically important in recent times, namely the allocation of the environment and its resources and amenity, the techniques of economists have been found wanting and less than fully developed. This paper seeks to address this apparent paradox and deficiency.

This paper provides an economic valuation of the Jandakot wetlands, located to the south of Perth. A referendum style contingent valuation method survey is used to estimate economic value attributable to the preservation of wetlands dependant on the groundwater resource. Event history analysis is explored and …

Representing The Water Client [Outline], David W. Robbins

Western Water Law in Transition (Summer Conference, June 3-5)

3 pages.

The Maine Coast : Issues Considered, Maine Coastal Program

Maine Collection

The Maine Coast : Issues Considered - A Report to the Governor by his Advisory Committee on Coastal Development and Conservation

Maine Coastal Program, Maine State Planning Office

Augusta, Maine (31 October 1978)

Contents: Introduction / Summary of Committee Recommendations / Fisheries / Port Development / Heavy Industry Siting / Travel and Tourism / Cumulative Impact of Development / Natural Resource Information Transfer