Land-Use Management

Summary

Land-use management concerns the allocation of the landscape and its natural resources to appropriate uses to provide food and shelter, ensure adequate social and economic life-support systems, and protect public health and safety while preserving and sustaining the affected environment and natural resources for future generations. Another way to define land-use management is as a process that alters nature to benefit humanity, and, in many cases, also strives to diminish the impact of the built and cultivated environment on natural resources, such as soil, water, and air. The ultimate goal is to manage the competition for land and natural resources through integrated planning based on clearly stated objectives.

Definition and Basic Principles

Land-use management is a multidisciplinary science integrating natural land systems with the built environment. Land-use managers assess, evaluate, analyze, and study geospatial data to set public policy and propose land-use controls that mitigate environmental impacts caused by development. The collaboration of multiple stakeholders and a high level of communication are necessary components of land-use management.

Graphic arts are often employed to prepare maps or plans that are used to communicate land-use management proposals. Land-use management plans provide viable support for various management purposes. Maps and plans may depict existing and future uses for land, such as transportation corridors, hazardous and solid-waste disposal sites, and historic districts, or water management solutions, such as aquifers and watersheds. Maps of limiting factors, such as wetlands, floodplains, carrying capacity assessments, and the results of land suitability studies, help determine how land should be used and zoned. Soil and erosion mapping can aid in planning agricultural uses, and forest studies protect the habitats of flora and fauna from development.

When a lack of planning and land-use management creates haphazard and unsustainable growth, governments are often forced to take on the burden of correcting the situation.

Background and History

As people turned from hunting to agriculture, city-states began to spring up along rivers and bodies of water. With greater concentrations of people came a need to manage land use for various means. Communities began constructing walls around settlements to protect themselves from invaders, and they created geometric land patterns, including gardens that served both practical and aesthetic purposes. Ancient societies began strategically locating buildings and selecting sites for monuments and religious structures based on purposes, such as uniting the heavens with the earth. As people discovered metals and other resources that could be bartered, they developed transportation networks and began to exploit land, often with little regard for the environmental impact. In the fourth century Before the Common Era (BCE), the Greek philosopher Aristotle espoused a holistic view of city design, and laws began to be written to manage water resources for irrigation.

Modern land-use management evolved from eighteenth-century schools of thought, such as Western classicism. In the United States, Thomas Jefferson is well known for his management of the landscape based on Renaissance traditions. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted developed urban parks, and in partnership with architect Calvert Vaux, he planned communities, such as Riverside Estate in Chicago. The depletion of natural resources and uncontrolled development that resulted from industrialization highlighted the need for planning and land management. Pioneers in land-use planning include English town planner Sir Ebenezer Howard, the founder of the garden city concept, and American historian and philosopher Lewis Mumford, author of The Story of Utopias (1922) and cofounder in 1923 of the Regional Planning Association of America, a group devoted to the planned development of urban areas.

In 1909, the first National Conference on City Planning and the Problems of Congestion was held in Washington, DC, to address problems, such as those uncovered by an extensive survey of Pittsburgh that had begun in 1907. Policymakers began to examine what American cities should provide for their citizens and how they could be economically and socially beneficial as well as aesthetically pleasing. This interest in land-use management resulted in the founding of organizations, such as the American City Planning Institute (1917, later the American Planning Association), the creation of city planning boards (Boston, 1912), and the enacting of the first zoning ordinances (New York, 1916). Land use gradually became controlled by federal, state, and local government regulations and policies.

How It Works

Land-use management begins with inventorying past and existing land-use patterns to propose sustainable land uses and promulgate accompanying management policies. In preparing land-use plans, establishing public policy, and adopting comprehensive land-use laws and regulations, land-use managers extensively use technologies, such as remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to detect changes in land-use patterns and AutoCAD (two- or three-dimensional computer-aided design, or CAD, or CAD, software) to depict existing and future features of selected areas.

Land-Use Controls. Those managing land use must balance, evaluate, and integrate social, economic, and environmental concerns before arriving at a final management plan. Governmental regulators will usually seek public and private input as part of the decision-making process. In many jurisdictions, land-use controls must be approved by legislative and administrative bodies and the public. The types of land-use management controls are many and varied, but most include zoning and subdivision control regulations adopted by municipal and county governments based on comprehensive master plans. Other public land-use controls include ordinances and bylaws that regulate water resources, earth removal, and building construction. Land use can also be managed through public and private easements and proprietary regulations, such as those found in real estate development covenants. Permitting and enforcing land-use laws and regulations by local, state, and federal governmental entities also provide a form of land-use control, especially in environmental and transportation planning.

Technologies. Many technologies support modern land-use management. Private and public tracking systems are available to governments and others to collect and share geographic data. The US Navy's electronic Land Use Control Information System (LUCIS) is one example of a national digitized mapping system. Private companies also have created information gathering and tracking systems, such as Google Earth, which provides satellite images of the world and maps. Many of these systems allow users not only to collect and track data on land-use controls and permitting but also to manage land-use activities by integrating with GIS and CAD systems.

Environmental modeling is another technology that has become popular as a land-use management tool. Computer modeling allows experimentation that suggests an outcome when something occurs in nature. Modeling can be used, for example, to study the relationship between industrialization, air pollution, and environmental degradation or to improve agricultural production by suggesting the amount of surface water runoff and erosion that can be expected based on soil and ground cover conditions.

Sustainable Land Use. Land-use management concerns the developed environment's impact on the natural environment and the strictures that the natural environment might place on land development. Climate, weather conditions, topography, soils, and hydrology are some of the physical features of the environment that land-use managers rely on in developing sustainable policies. Land-use managers must make difficult decisions, such as whether developments should be allowed in areas subject to hurricanes or whether expansion into undeveloped areas should be limited to prevent urban overcrowding, sprawl, and unhealthy living conditions. Therefore, the dilemma in achieving sustainable land-use management is how to reach an equilibrium between the built and natural environments and satisfy the multiple economic, social, and environmental interests.

Applications and Products

Spatial Analysis. Geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies are used for spatial analysis of land uses. For example, one application of spatial analysis is the management of agricultural production. Remote sensing through agricultural satellites allows for the monitoring of crop yields and distribution, atmospheric conditions affecting agricultural growth, moisture needs, pest and disease damage, and soil erosion. Planners also use spatial analysis to generate land-use maps and informational databases that promote sustainable development through the evaluation of land-use change and the adoption of regulatory schemes.

Land Cover Evaluation. In preparing land cover maps, land-use managers classify and quantify existing land uses into water resources, pavement, forest lands, agricultural lands, grasslands, and the built environment. This mapped information, together with database knowledge gleaned from new technologies and field experimentation, allows planners to understand existing land-use conditions and monitor future changes worldwide. Agricultural sustainability has benefited greatly from land cover analysis. Evaluation of land cover has also been used for applications, such as predicting storm-water runoff to design drainage systems; urban planning, including integration of green space and recreational uses into the built environment; fire hazard mapping based on the amount of plant coverage that would provide fuel for a fire; and assessment of hydrology needs in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.

Land Surface Sensing. Remote-sensing technologies that use satellites to gather data enable land-use managers to study objects on the land's surface, such as forest growth, buildings, pavement, bodies of water, and the surrounding biosphere. Those involved in land-use management associated with natural resource conservation are likely to use land surface sensing and field measurements to manage forests and ensure biodiversity by gathering data on plant growth, density of the canopy, and undercover species. Other applications for land surface sensing include meteorological studies, evaluation of soils and topography, collection of data concerning radiation from natural and non-natural sources, monitoring of ground temperature and snow and ice accumulation and decline, and water resources management.

Growth Management. Governmental regulation of growth allows for economic development in ways that make better use of existing land and natural resources. Land uses are managed by clustering the built environment around transportation networks, water resources, and other essential services, integrating open space into the developed landscape, and preserving natural land features. Smart growth is an example of growth management that promotes high-density, compact projects in areas best suited for development based on topography, geographic features, water resources, and infrastructure. Smart growth often consists of mixed-use developments, including residential, commercial, industrial, and recreational uses that support a self-sustaining community.

Environment Issues and Hazard Mitigation. Land-use managers can address environmental pollution issues by modeling to predict the impact of various land uses on the environment and develop mitigation strategies. For example, planners use modeling to propose regulations to mitigate the possible impacts of fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture on water resources. In addition, GIS and related technologies enable land-use managers to locate and monitor hazards, such as mines and hazardous waste sites.

Natural Resources Protection. Those involved with the economic side of land-use management do not always provide the best protection for natural resources, including water, air, soil, and plant and animal habitats. Ensuring that natural resources are preserved and open space is integrated into the built environment are important applications of land-use management. In addition, land-use managers are involved in land conservation through outright purchase of land or easements for conservation or through restricting land development in ways that preserve fragile ecosystems. Modern land-use management technologies provide the means for determining which land should be protected.

Habitat Modeling. Using habitat modeling as a land-use management tool aids in protecting plant and animal habitats, including those that are rare, conserving biodiversity, monitoring ecosystems and their functionality, and predicting changes in habitats caused by nonnatural and natural disturbances. Often, habitat modeling supports the preservation of specific species. Habitat modeling is used with GIS, remote sensing, and fieldwork, including soil classification and plant coverage measurements. Using data from multiple sources, land-use managers can compare variables to make inferences concerning habitat health. Variables used in habitat modeling include tree types, soil classes, topography, and hydrology.

Open Land Management. Globally, as development continues encroaching on open land, governments have begun to regulate land uses to preserve rangeland, grazing land, grassland habitats, and agricultural areas. Land-use managers are crucial in monitoring land-use changes through new technologies and advising governments about which nonagricultural uses are compatible with open land uses. The preservation of open land uses is important for sustaining the future of life on the planet.

Careers and Coursework

An undergraduate or advanced degree in one of several planning disciplines, such as urban, regional, spatial, environmental, or transportation planning, is an excellent background for launching a land-use management career. Students should also take classes in planning theory, graphic arts and design, geographic information systems, tracking and notification computer databases, economics, sociology, political science, public administration, botany, statistics, law, and natural sciences, such as biology. Additional coursework might include hydrology for a focus on water resource management or soil science and geology for students interested in soil management, especially as it relates to agricultural land use. Universities, such as Bangor University in Wales and Aberdeen University in Scotland, offer degree courses in land management and land economy.

Job opportunities related to land-use management are best for students with advanced degrees that include training in modern technologies for geographical data collection, tracking, and sharing. Most advanced degrees are in one of the planning disciplines, and most planners also seek membership in professional organizations, such as the American Institute of Certified Planners. Although doctorate degrees in land-use management are becoming common, the typical advanced degree program culminates with a master's degree.

Most land-use management careers are in local, state, and federal governmental settings, often as a planner or public policy administrator. Opportunities also exist with international bodies, nongovernmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations in diverse fields associated with agriculture or environmental and natural resource management and conservation. Private companies that provide consultation services to governmental agencies also employ land-use managers. Some specialty careers in land-use management are related to oil and gas exploration, mining (including reclamation), and historic preservation.

Social Context and Future Prospects

Although GIS has enhanced the ability to study and manage land use, soil degradation, lack of quality water, and loss of biodiversity continue to be significant land-use management issues. Gaining global support to tackle these matters is not always viable. Less-developed nations often do not have the economic resources or the social desire to develop policies that enable sustainable land use, and some stakeholders in the most developed nations are unwilling to forgo immediate economic gain in exchange for future sustainability.

However, individual nations and the international community are working together to solve some of the most pressing land-use management concerns. The greater availability of geographical data, including those collected by satellites, has led to better agricultural practices in areas where soil degradation is noticeable, the ability to evaluate water resources to solve issues regarding the quality and quantity of water, and better management of waste disposal. These data have also clarified land-use patterns and encroachment on the natural environment, including deforestation and loss of habitat for plants and animals. A 2021 study that combined remote sensing data of global land use and land cover changes and statistics on international trade from 1960 to 2019 found that land-use change has affected more than 30 percent of the total land cover of the world during the period. It identified various factors responsible for the changes, including the international trade of agricultural goods, deforestation, afforestation, climate change, and the increasing threat of consequent catastrophic climatic events. Land-use management goes beyond its importance to sustainability, resource management, and economics. It is integral to the individual and social well-being of global citizens and must remain cognizant of the cultural and aesthetic importance of land as well. Refinements of existing technology and future advances are likely to add to the knowledge base that planners and policymakers can use and share in making informed land-use management decisions that affect the future of global life.

Bibliography

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