Full Citation
Title: Spatial Heterogeneity of Policy Effects on Land-Use Change
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2015
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Abstract: Social and ecological effects of development-driven landscape fragmentation have been documented across spatial scales, yet most land-use policy studies have been confined to single jurisdictions. The primary goal of this research was to quantify the effects of local land-use policies on development outcomes at regional scales. I first examined the characteristics of jurisdictions (townships in Michigan, USA) that made them likely or unlikely to adopt zoning ordinances. Then, I explored how zoning adoption influenced subsequent development patterns and how these patterns varied with distance to urban centers. I studied development impacts in three ways: a large-n study of 707 Michigan townships to quantify general trends in housing development and forest fragmentation; a case study of two counties (one in Michigan and one in Wisconsin) to examine fine-scale housing patterns; and a spatial analysis of frac sand mine development, which in Wisconsin is regulated primarily by local zoning. I used these three studies to draw conclusions about how different types of development manifest on the landscape, those part of gradual processes like suburbanization (housing growth) as well as those that are due to stochastic market forces (frac sand mining). The result is a comprehensive study of zoning outcomes across jurisdictional boundaries, setting the groundwork for an overdue evaluation of this widely used land-use policy. I drew methodologies from the fields of economics (causal inference) and landscape ecology (spatial analysis) to complete this work, and research findings reflected this dual focus. I found evidence for a clear rural-urban gradient effect determining zoning effects on housing growth rates. Zoning adoption resulted in higher housing growth in jurisdictions near cities but lower housing growth outside of commuting distance from cities compared to unzoned controls. Frac sand mines were preferentially sited in unzoned jurisdictions, with higher mine counts in more remote areas. I found no evidence, however, that zoning adoption predicted forest fragmentation rates or specific development patterns, such as clustering near population centers or protected areas. Zoning is a local policy tool but its patchwork implementation across rural landscapes results in regional effects—housing units and mines preferentially clustered in some jurisdictions over others.
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Authors: Locke, Christina, M
Institution: The University of Wisconsin - Madison
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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Forestry)
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Pages: 178
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization
Countries: United States