Types
of Land Use
Construction of
buildings for residential use
Transportation
network (streets, roads, parking lots, airports, railway lines, etc.)
Commercial sites
(malls, distribution centers, mail & delivery centers, restaurants,
colleges & universities, hospitals, carwash and gas stations, etc.)
Recreational
development
(parks, sports arenas, marinas, ballfields, playgrounds, etc.)
Industrial Parks
(factories, assembly facilities, mining, etc.)
Infrastructural
facilties (drinking water purification, sewage treatment, electricity
production,
telephone services, schools, lawn & garden maintenance, etc.)
Impacts
of Land Use
Effects on drinking
water (quantity and quality; excessive use and wastage may result in
inadequate
supply; groundwater and surface water reservoirs may become
contaminated)
Destruction of
habitats (altered or destroyed wetlands, reduced biodiversity in
forests,
marshes, lakes, oceans, and tundra; introduction of alien or "exotic"
species;
damage to vernal pools; etc.
Introduction of
toxic chemicals into ecosystems (mercury, pesticides, dioxins, PCBs,
and
others)
Reduction of open
space (a lowered quality of life for people; reduced capability of
ecosystems
to recover from perturbances, natural and human-based; loss of
wilderness
experience)
Tools
for Better Managing Land Use & Impacts
Local zoning
ordinances (limit density, protect drinking water, provide balance
in municipal growth)
Land Trusts (used
to procure and set aside public lands)
Community and
Urban Planning (Crafting of "Comprehensive Plans" to guide growth
within
a community for 5 to 10 year periods; assure input from many
stakeholders
within the public; provides tools for managing the necessary
infrastructure
changes that are needed, such as roads, schools, draining systems,
policy
& fire services, etc.)
GIS Mapping
(Geographic Information Systems, which are computerized mapping tools
for
showing where resources are located, and for projecting how much growth
is likely to take place, and noting where the strongest impacts will be
experienced)
Key terms we use to describe land use and its effects: