Ecological and economic impacts of urban form
Introduction:
Urban growth continues to consume farmland, forests, and wetlands at
the urban fringes of most major U.S. cities. At the same time,
many cities and even inner suburbs are experiencing socioeconomic
decline. Growth at the urban fringe comes with nonmarket
economic costs and benefits (known as
externalities) that are rarely calculated in land use decision making.
These include costs of new infrastructure, public services, and
loss of open space. Not knowing the full costs and benefits of
economic decisions can
lead to market failure, a case where markets provide the wrong signals
for decision making. The loss of ecosystem services, in particular, has major impacts on quality of life.
Economic incentives play a key role in development, and can promote unsustainable development patterns or promote sustainable development. New forms of economic incentives are being developed to encourage
compact development that has the benefit of preserving landscapes and
reducing energy use in transportation, a major contributor to global climate
change. These incentive programs can include payments for ecosystem services
to private landowners. Future research will include development
of a cost-benefit framework for major transportation projects that will
allow ecosystem service values of land to be incorporated into decision
making.
Urban economics links:
The Center for Neighborhood Technology's Green Infrastructure Calculator
Campaign for Sensible Growth
Resources on urban planning and the environment in Chicago by NIPC
LandChoices is an organization advocating conservation design
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a research and policy institute dedicated to land use patterns and policy
Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program
Urban Land Institute
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For more information, contact kbagstad@uvm.edu
