Full Citation
Title: The social context of U.S. built landscapes
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2018
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Abstract: In this paper, we present a quantified, GIS-based analysis of the relationship between urban morphologicalpatterns and racial, ethnic, and household characteristics. We want to understand how the built landscapes ofAmerican cities differ in sociological terms—for example, are some more prone to racial concentration or pre-valence of particular family types? Since many built landscape types are relatively recent and rapidly growing,this analysis can inform current debates about sprawl and inequality. We examined six diverse U.S. metropolitanregions: Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Portland, and Sacramento, joining census block data with builtlandscape patterns mapped in GIS through aerial imagery analysis. We find that a large portion of our sixmetropolitan regions consists of patterns that can be characterized as sprawl—patterns that are often manifes-tations of a desire for separation. This separation has significant equity implications because resources— services,amenities, schools, parks, tax base, etc.—are not evenly distributed. Further, two of our patterns (Rural Sprawland Upscale Enclave), which are growing rapidly and most often occur on the urban fringe, have the least diversedemographics across all six metro areas. These landscapes are also by far the least dense, leading to a range ofnegative environmental impacts. Older built landscape types (Urban Grids, Rectangular Block Grids, andDegenerate Grids) are denser and relatively diverse. These have lower rates of occupancy in most urban areas,indicating an opportunity to house additional residents in relatively well-located, well-connected, and diversecentral portions of metropolitan regions.
Url: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204618300744
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Authors: Talen, Emily; Wheeler, Stephen, M; Anselin, Luc
Periodical (Full): Landscape and Urban Planning
Issue:
Volume: 177
Pages: 266-280
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Land Use/Urban Organization
Countries: United States