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Land Use Practices for Sustainable and Healthy Communities: Linking Environmental, Health and Social Sciences to Improve Decisions
Citation:
Walton, B., L. Cox, I. Heilke, N. Flanders, M. Mccullough, V. Hansen, J. Andrews, J. Thomas, C. Walters, S. Jacobs, Y. Yuan, A. Zimmer, James Weaver, R. Daniels, T. Moore, T. Yuen, D. Payne-Sturges, B. Rashleigh, AND M. Tenbrink. Land Use Practices for Sustainable and Healthy Communities: Linking Environmental, Health and Social Sciences to Improve Decisions. SETAC, Vancouver, BC, CANADA, November 09 - 13, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
We conclude that the conundrum faced by many communities today comes when demand for available land conflicts with the needs for essential ecosystem services, healthful living conditions, buildings, transportation, and aesthetics. Sustainable solutions to contemporary community problems are more likely when environmental science, landscape ecology, health and social sciences are enjoined to inform land use decisions. We present evidence to support this conclusion.
Description:
Land has figured prominently in the history of environmental protection in the United States and in the history of the U.S. EPA. In 1970, the EPA was founded “to protect human health and the environment. . .by safeguarding the air we breathe, water we drink, and land on which we live.” Advances in environmental toxicology and chemistry have been fundamental to the many successes in environmental protection achieved over the ensuing decades. Today, many of EPA’s goals for sustainability cannot be achieved unless land use is afforded attention commensurate with its importance in shaping ecosystem conditions and public health. Although the EPA has limited direct authority over private and public land use decisions, EPA’s implementation of federal regulations for pollution control and prevention continue to influence land management and land use practices. Moreover, the EPA has wrought impressive environmental gains by providing compelling data and information (eg,Toxic Release Inventory and Energy Star). A bibliography of more than 1400 peer-reviewed publications was compiled and analyzed to evaluate decision-support tools, trends, and research findings on land use practices and sustainability. Clearly, urban sprawl remains one of the most significant pressures leading to loss of natural habitat and agricultural land, loss of ecosystem services, and negative impacts to public health and well-being. Compact development affords many benefits because it reduces the urban contribution to energy use and climate change, lowers the risk of extreme heat events, often generates higher tax revenues per acre, and reduces the overall footprint of human settlement. On the other hand, compact development can also concentrate air pollutants in areas where many people live and work and increase personal injury from traffic accidents. Another disadvantage is that human displacement due to gentrification can marginalize lower income groups. We conclude that the conundrum faced by many communities today comes when demand for available land conflicts with the needs for essential ecosystem services, healthful living conditions, buildings, transportation, and aesthetics. Sustainable solutions to contemporary community problems are more likely when environmental science, landscape ecology, health and social sciences are enjoined to inform land use decisions. We present evidence to support this conclusion.