You are here:
Research and Resources on Sustainable Land Use in Built and Natural Environments
Citation:
Cox, L., V. Hansen, J. Andrews, B. Rashleigh, C. Walters, Y. Yuan, M. Mccullough, D. Payne-Sturges, I. Heilke, A. Zimmer, T. Yuen, AND B. Walton. Research and Resources on Sustainable Land Use in Built and Natural Environments. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of the SHC 4.1.2. product is to synthesize research and resources for a white paper on sustainable land use solutions for communities and regional area. This compilation and preliminary synthesis is NOT the white paper itself, rather it is the initial compilation of the literature to inform a white paper on the topic to be producted in 2013.
Description:
Land Use was identified as one of four overarching topics to integrate science and research products for the Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program (U.S.EPA 2012). Land use and the other three topics--“Buildings and Infrastructure,” “Transportation,” and “Waste and Materials Management” --were recognized by communities and other stakeholders as critical needs during a series of listening sessions convened by the Agency (Walters 2012). The importance of tools, models, and methods to inform and facilitate decisions in these areas was underscored by participants. The Office of Research and Development (ORD) has both a history and capability to provide tools to inform land use decisions through identification of critical variables, characterization of inter- dependencies, projection of future scenarios, and visualization of landscapes and processes. These capabilities can help realize benefits of land use decisions for communities as well as anticipate and avoid unintended negative consequences. Importantly, land use decisions can be used to successfully achieve community objectives for sustainability. The Triple Value Model of “Interconnections within Community Systems” (Fiksel 2011) presents a useful conceptual model for the role of Natural Capital, including Land & Soils, in supplying natural resources for the built environment as well as providing amenities in the form of ecosystem services. The capacity for ecosystems to assimilate and degrade pollutants discharged from industry and society to the natural environment (Figure1) is a good example of ecosystem services that benefit society. The integrative role of Land Use is depicted in Figure 2 showing points of intervention for recent EPA initiatives. These conceptual models provide a framework for the concepts discussed in the following synthesis.