A constructability assessment method (CAM) for sustainable division of land parcels

Historically the land development process has lacked a decision support structure for evaluating undeveloped parcels of land for compatibility with land use policy and engineering constraints. This paper demonstrates an applied multi-criteria decision support structure for characterizing the spatial distribution and classification of a parcel’s potential to support residential lot construction. This support structure is based on parcel attributes quantified in a typical site feasibility report, to include: potential house yield, wetlands area, soil types, streams (surface drains), and steep slope areas. The analytical capabilities of geographic information system (GIS) are employed in the decision support structure named the constructability assessment method (CAM). CAM integrates a dynamic multi-criteria attribute assessment method, based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), for a given set of administrative requirements, and engineering constraints and judgment.The results of a case study using CAM characterized the approximate location of ideal lots for homes construction in an R-1 zoning district located on a 1290 acre land parcel in Loudoun County, VA, while avoiding existing hydric soils, floodplains, steep slopes, and forested areas. The number of ideal lots for a given set of engineering and administrative constraints represented a 65% reduction from the maximum lots permitted by regulatory constraints alone. The methodology used in this case study provides a consistent and repeatable land parcel analysis technique for undeveloped land parcels, and can be adapted and/or extended to a number of similar publicly available geographic datasets and constraint. In estimating optimal development density, CAM meets the needs of zoning administrators as well as the developers, thus offering a demand-driven market-based solution for sustainable land development.     

The emergence of zoning policy games in exurban jurisdictions: Informing collective action theory

Theoretical urban policy literature predicts the likelihood of free riding in the management of common goods such as forested open space; such outcome is often characterized as a Prisoner's Dilemma game. Numerous cases exist in which neighboring jurisdictions cooperate to maintain public goods, challenging the expected results, yet theoretical explanations of these cases have not been fully developed. In this paper, we use an agent-based model to explore how underlying micro-behaviors affect the payoffs obtained by two neighboring municipalities in a hypothetical exurban area. Payoffs are measured in terms of regional forested space and of local tax revenue at the end of the agent-based simulations; the municipalities affect these payoffs through their choice of residential zoning policies and the spillover effect between the neighboring jurisdictions. Zoning restrictions influence the conversion of farmland into residential subdivisions of different types, and consequently the location of heterogeneous residential households in the region. Developers and residents respond to the changing landscape characteristics, thus establishing a feedback between early and future land-use patterns. The structure of the simulated payoffs is analyzed using standard game theory. Our analysis shows that a variety of games, in addition to Prisoner's Dilemma, can emerge between the neighboring jurisdictions. Other games encourage coordination or subsidization, offering some explanations for the unexpected observations. The game realized in any given context depends on the initial characteristics of the landscape, the value given to the objectives each township seeks to maximize, and the income distribution of the population.     

Upzoning and value capture: How U.S. local governments use land use regulation power to create and capture value from real estate developments

The public sector can harness its authority to control land uses to secure valuable public benefits from real estate developments. This paper investigates how five major U.S. cities—Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle—are using their land use regulation powers to create and capture value for the public benefit. An analysis of the zoning and entitlement processes of the 20 largest real estate development projects in each city reveals that value has been captured from all 100 projects. Furthermore, these cities implicitly differentiated value capture into two distinct components: value creation and value capture. Among the 100 projects, cities created value for 90 projects by allowing greater density and height—a practice often referred to as “upzoning.” Distinguishing such upzoning incidences from traditional land use exaction tools is important because the added value gives local governments greater legitimacy in asking for public benefits. The experience of the five cities further revealed that value capture strategies can be customized to adapt to unique regulatory, political, and cultural contexts. Lastly, despite the fact that the majority of the upzoned projects increased density and height through project-specific negotiations, none of the cities had clear standards or evaluation frameworks for determining: how much value was created, what can be asked for in return, and who should benefit from the value captured. Cross-national scholarship on value capture can be leveraged to address these important questions.     

基于建设适宜性分区的农村宅基地整理模式选择——以常熟市为例

研究目的:进行常熟市建设适宜性分区,为不同区域选择农村宅基地整理模式提供科学依据,提高土地整理的因地适宜性与可行性。研究方法:运用收敛分析法和特尔菲法确定指标权重,采用空间叠合分析方法,耦合适宜性分区与现状宅基地,从而进行整理模式的选择。研究结果:基于建设适宜性分区,对区域适宜的农村宅基地整理模式选择具有重要指导意义,常熟市17.0 km2的农村宅基地适宜通过城乡一体化整理模式整理为城镇用地;62.9 km2的农村宅基地适宜通过村内合建模式,提高用地集约程度;85.1 km2的农村宅基地适宜通过迁村并居整理模式,以增加不宜建设区域的耕地数量,增加集中连片保护的耕地面积。研究结论:基于适宜性分区选择整理模式,从定量的研究角度为农村宅基地整理工作提供依据,方法切实可行。     

Farmland Preservation Verdicts—Rezoning Agricultural Land in British Columbia

The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in British Columbia (BC), Canada, is a provincial zoning scheme designed to protect agricultural land from development. Since 1973, landowners have not been permitted to use ALR land for nonagricultural purposes, prompting some to seek recovery of development option value by applying for exclusion from the ALR. Using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology and a binary choice (logit) model, this study examines factors that impact the acceptance of ALR exclusion applications. With data from two regions in southwestern BC, we find that applications are more likely to be approved when the land is closer to the major highway, has a smaller parcel size, consists of a smaller portion of the total parcel area, or has poorer quality soils. Therefore, as intended by public policy, agricultural capability is a key determinant in exclusion decisions, retaining properties of greater agricultural value in the ALR. Even though public opinion has suggested otherwise, the political party in power at the time of the decision was only a weak factor, mostly moderated by the number of applications in a given year. A spatial‐effects model found no evidence of spatial autocorrelation, supporting the conclusions drawn from the nonspatial model estimations. La réserve de terres agricoles de la Colombie‐Britannique (ALR), au Canada, est un plan de zonage provincial destinéà protéger les terres agricoles contre le développement urbain. Depuis 1973, les propriétaires fonciers ne peuvent utiliser les terres de la réserve à des fins non agricoles, ce qui incite certains à tenter de récupérer une certaine valeur d’option en faisant une demande d’exclusion. À l’aide de la technologie des systèmes d’information géographique (SIG) et d’un modèle de choix binaire (type logit), nous avons examiné les facteurs qui influencent l’acceptation des demandes d’exclusion. À l’aide de données sur deux régions du sud‐ouest de la Colombie‐Britannique, nous avons observé que les demandes d’exclusion sont plus susceptibles d’être acceptées lorsque les terres sont situées en bordure d’une route importante, sont de petite taille, ne représentent qu’une portion d’une superficie plus grande ou présentent des sols de mauvaise qualité. En conséquence, comme le prévoit la politique du gouvernement, la capacité agricole est un facteur clé dans les décisions d’exclusion qui permet de conserver les propriétés de grande valeur agricole dans la réserve. Bien que l’opinion publique indique le contraire, le parti politique au pouvoir au moment de la décision ne constituait qu’un faible facteur, principalement réduit par le nombre de demandes au cours d’une année donnée. Un modèle d’effets spatiaux n’a pas réussi à montrer l’existence d’une autocorrélation spatiale appuyant les conclusions tirées des estimations du modèle non spatial.     

含山县农村居民点用地变化的驱动力分析

本文依据含山县1995年以来的社会经济统计数据和土地变更数据为基础,利用主成分和回归分析相结合的方法对该县的农村居民点用地变化定性及定量分析。结果表明土地整理相关政策、经济水平、产业结构、人口与家庭是主要影响因素,最后对含山县农村居民点用地的发展方向提出针对性的建议。     

平昌县土地利用动态变化分析

土地利用变化研究是生态环境变化研究的重要基础,也是规范人类行为的科学决策依据。随着人口的持续增长和社会经济的快速发展,平昌县土地利用发生了较大的变化。本文以平昌县2006~2010年土地利用统计资料为依据,利用土地利用动态度模型、土地利用程度模型、区域差异模型,对该县2006~2010年的土地利用动态变化状况进行了分析。分析结果表明：平昌县耕地、园地、林地、城乡建设用地、交通水利用地面积在增加,其他农用地、水域、自然保留地在减少;自然保留地和林地面积变化幅度相当大,变化面积分别为-2005.92hm2、937.96hm2;土地利用变化速度较快,年变化率达0.53%;土地利用程度较高,土地利用综合指数达245.18,土地利用处于发展时期;各乡镇土地利用变化区域差异显著。     

Temporal and spatial variability of agricultural land loss in relation to policy and accessibility in a low hilly region of southeast China

The temporal and spatial patterns in land use change in a low hilly region in southeast of China was analyzed from maps of converted agricultural land for 1999–2006. The factors driving farm land conversion was analyzed using logistic regression models. The amount of agricultural land loss varied temporally, and the spatial distribution of converted agricultural land patches decreased from low to high altitudes in the study area. Analysis using logistic regression models showed that good accessibility sped up the conversion of agricultural land to other uses, the elevation of a parcel lowered the risk of conversion, and agricultural land conversions are highly correlated with its adjacent or neighboring parcels’ land use, with the probability of being converted decreasing as the distance to nearest construction land increases. In addition, land use policy, especially the land use regulation policy issued by the central government decreased the agricultural land loss, and the more stringent regulation on cultivated land conversion lowered the possibility of conversion from cultivated land to other use.     

The direct use value of municipal commonage goods and services to urban households in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

To redress past racial discrepancies in ownership and tenure, the ANC government of South Africa initiated programmes to make land accessible to the previously disadvantaged. A key component of the national land reform programme was the provision of commonage lands to urban municipalities for use by the urban poor. However, there has been no assessment of the contribution that urban commonage makes to previously disadvantaged households. This study assessed the economic benefits of the commonage programme to local households, through an in-depth survey of 90 households across three small towns in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We examined the marketed and non-marketed consumptive direct-use values of land-based livelihoods on commonage, calculated via the ‘own reported values’ approach. The results indicate that a proportion of South Africa's urban population rely to some degree on municipal commonage for part of their livelihoods. Commonage contributions to total livelihood incomes ranged between 14 and 20%. If the contributions from commonage were excluded, the incomes of over 10% of households in each study town would drop below the poverty line. Overall, the value of harvests from commonage was worth over R1 000 (US$ 142) per hectare per year and over R4.7 million (US$ 0.68 million) per commonage per year. However, the extent and nature of use and reliance was not uniform among households, so that we developed a typology of commonage users, with four types being identified. However, rapidly growing urban populations and high levels of poverty potentially threaten the sustainability of commonage resource use. Yet the national land reform programme focuses largely on the transfer of land to municipalities and not on sustainable management. Municipalities, in turn, invest relatively little in commonage management, and the little they do is focussed on livestock production. Non-timber forest products are not considered at all, even though this study shows that they are a vital resource for the urban poor, notably for energy and construction materials.     

Methodology to calculate the carbon footprint of household land use in the urban planning stage

The growing concerns of climate change require implementing measures to quantify, to monitor and to minimize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nonetheless, most of the measures available are not easy to define or execute because they rely on current emissions and have a corrective character. To address this issue, a methodology to characterize GHG emissions that allows implementing preventive measures is proposed in this paper. The methodology is related to household urban planning procedures and considers urban infrastructures to characterize GHG emissions and to execute preventive measures based on sustainability design criteria. The methodology has been tested by applying it to a set of medium-sized municipalities with average GHG emissions from 6,822.32 kgCO_2eq/year to 5,913.79 kgCO_2eq/year for every residential unit. The results indicate that the greatest pollutant source is transport, especially in the issuance of street network design, followed by gas and electricity consumption. The average undevelopable land area required for the complete GHG emissions capture amounts to 3.42 m² of undevelopable land for every m² of urbanizable land and 9.02 m² of undevelopable land for every m² of built land.     

北京市农村居民点用地整理潜力研究

研究目的:综合自然、社会、经济和土地利用等因素,分析北京市合理的农村居民点用地整理潜力。研究方法:综合分析法,空间分析法,文献资料法。研究结果:(1)提出了分区、分模式、分设标准研究北京市农村居民点整理的模式和方案;(2)提出了北京市实施农村居民点用地整理潜力的备选方案和推荐方案;(3)提出了推进北京市农村居民点用地整理的政策建议。研究结论:农村居民点用地整理是一项系统工程,对其潜力的估计不能单纯套用人均建设用地标准等指标进行,而应密切结合区域的自然地理条件、社会经济发展、土地利用及规划布局等因素,采用“三分法”(分区、分模式、分设标准)分析来进行;针对北京市的研究表明,尽管2004—2020年间,农村居民点整理的理论潜力在308km2—423km2,但从社会经济的承受能力看,实现200km2以内的腾退比较合适,并且需要因地制宜、积极稳妥、配合必要的政策予以推进。     

基于Voronoi图的农村居民点空间分布及整治潜力研究——以威宁县为例

研究借助Arc GIS空间分析技术和Voronoi图Cv值法对贵州省威宁县农村居民点的空间分布特征进行分析,结果显示威宁县农村居民点Voronoi图Cv值为105.49%,空间分布类型属于集群型。以乡镇尺度看,草海镇等7个乡镇空间分布类型属于随机型,其余28个乡镇为集群型。在此基础上采用人均建设用地标准法测算威宁县农村居民点整治潜力值,结合各乡镇的农村居民点空间分布类型和整理潜力,将全县35个乡镇划分为集群型优势区、随机型优势区、集群型劣势区、随机型劣势区四个不同等级的整治潜力区划,其中整治潜力集群型优势区主要分布在云贵乡、雪山镇等11个乡镇,随机型优势区主要分布在草海镇、麻乍乡等5个乡镇,集群型劣势区主要分布在黑土河乡、中水镇等17个乡镇,随机型劣势区分布在兔街乡、黑石镇,并据此分析和探索各区划内农村居民点整治的方案策略。     

Urban crops and livestock: The experiences,challenges, and opportunities of planning for urban agriculture in two Canadian provinces

While many municipalities globally are currently undertaking initiatives to support urban agriculture, policies and zoning regulations can act as barriers, with the former usually not integrated with planning. Extensive research has been conducted on urban agriculture policies in the global South, but much less is known about associated practices and policies in the global North. This is especially true for the Canadian context and therefore the present study aims at improving our overall understanding of the urban agriculture situation in two Canadian provinces. Relevant policies, such as official plans or official community plans, alternate policy documents and guidelines, zoning by-laws, and animal-related by-laws were reviewed for 10 municipalities in Ontario and in British Columbia, all varying in socio-economic and climatological characteristics. Additional key informant interviews were conducted with municipal planners, community garden coordinators, and other municipal staff familiar with urban agriculture policies from six of the selected municipalities.In line with global trends, our results suggest that urban agriculture is becoming more widespread in the two provinces. However, even though all studied municipalities consistently support urban agriculture, they vary significantly in their approach, with some municipalities focusing much more narrowly on certain types of activities than others. Overall, community advocacy and municipal council support are the most important drivers in the policy process. Key informants expressed a need to bridge existing gaps between policy adoption and implementation of tools, emphasize public education and public awareness, create inventories of land available for urban agriculture, incorporate urban agriculture in the development review process, and focus on the commercial potential of the practice. Encouragingly, despite the many challenges that need to be addressed, we found that many opportunities exist that municipalities could consider when creating improved local urban agriculture policies and tools to enhance the urban food system.     

Determinants of cropland abandonment at the parcel,household and village levels in mountain areas of China: A multi-level analysis

Cropland abandonment accompanying economic development has been observed worldwide. China has experienced a large amount of land abandonment in recent years. However, the reasons for it are not entirely clear. Although abandonment decisions are made by individual households, the underlying conditions reflect processes operating at multiple levels. Therefore, we aimed to detect the influences on land abandonment at the parcel, household and village levels. We developed and employed a multi-level statistical model using farm household survey data and geographical maps of Wulong County. Our model revealed that of the variance in occurrence of land parcel abandonment, 7% and 13% can be explained at the household and village levels, respectively, while the remnant 80% can be explained at the land parcel features itself. We found that land abandonment is more prone to occur on parcels that are on steep slopes, have poor quality soil, or are remote from the laborers’ residences. Households with less agricultural labor per unit land area showed a high probability of land abandonment. We also found a nonlinear influence of labor age on land abandonment, with households comprising middle-aged laborers having a low land abandonment probability. Parcels in villages with high elevation, far from the county administrative center or with low prevalence of leased land are inclined to abandonment. We also found, surprisingly, that the household proportion of males among its agricultural laborers did not significantly influence the occurrence of land abandonment at the parcel level, probably due to the male agricultural laborers being overwhelmingly old (average age greater than 56 years). To alleviate land abandonment, we suggest improving land tenure and transfer security to ensure stable access to the land rental market, and also improving infrastructure in remote regions.     

城乡交界带农村居民点用地演变规律研究——以济南市历城区为例

济南市历城区位于城乡、山地平原交界带,农村居民点用地影响因素多,特殊性强.以历城区土地利用现状图(1996年)、历城区第二次土地利用现状调查图(2008年)为依据,应用MAPGIS软件对1996-2008年农村居民点用地的扩展演变进行了定量分析.结果表明:研究期内,历城区农村居民点用地总面积呈增加趋势,全区共增加了34...     

江苏省农村居民点用地现状分析与整理潜力测算

研究目的：测算江苏省65个地域单元农村居民点整理的理论潜力和现实潜力,为土地管理和新一轮土地利用总体规划修编提供参考。研究方法：统计分析法,实地调查法,层次分析法,人均用地指标法和限制条件修正系数法。研究结果：（1）江苏省农村居民点面广量大,人均用地超标,整理潜力很大;（2）65个地域单元的限制条件修正系数介于0.2849 — 0.7281之间,表示理论潜力转变为现实潜力的能力和可能性;（3）2005 — 2020年,全省农村居民点整理的理论潜力和现实潜力分别为224546.3 hm2和92727.09 hm2。研究结论：（1）人均用地超标,理论潜力巨大;（2）整理潜力受自然经济等条件限制,现实潜力下降;（3）区域条件差别显著,整理难度不一;（4）应因地制宜,有序推进农村居民点整理。     

Analyzing form-based zoning’s potential to stimulate mixed-use development in different economic environments

Form-based zoning ordinances can provide real estate developers with the ability to alter the mix of residential and commercial space included in their projects so long as they comply with design requirements governing the exterior of buildings. The real option model presented in this paper quantifies the value of this flexibility to assess the potential impact on development decisions and developer profits across market settings. The results suggest form-based zoning may stimulate development in weak markets with volatile demand. However, it may not consistently encourage a greater mixing of real estate product types in comparison to other land use regulations.     

The living commons of West Tyrol,Austria: Lessons for land policy and land administration

A right of commoners to pastures existed since the Early Middle Ages in Anglo-Saxon England and the European mainland, including Tyrol in Austria. Lowland commons institutions were largely dissolved by the 19th century; however, in the European Alps contiguous commons remain alive. Some two thousand alpine commons institutions are registered in the Tyrolean parcel cadaster and land registry. A specific study of West-Tyrolean commons (known as Agrargemeinschaft or AGMs), framed by Ostrom's design principles is presented. General lessons for land policy and land administration are extracted. An interview period was split between the Inn valley and the Ötztal. Roughly half are considered independent: others are regulated by the Tyrolean Agricultural Authority. Some AGMs hold the full bundle of land rights: others only hold pastoral and forestry rights. AGMs consisted either of a single cadastral parcel or several contiguous parcels. In the Inn valley villages the pastoral commons were owned by the municipalities, while in the researched Ötztal, AGMs are frequently the full owners of the commons. AGM membership ranges between 5 and 60 farm households. The number of livestock units pastured was in most cases stipulated in approved regulations. Alpine commons larger than 200 ha are also hunting-zones: revenue is collected from the lease of hunting rights. Most of the alpine commons are designated and used as ski-zones. Upper portions of two alpine commons in the Ötztal are state protected natural areas. The number of farms with pastoral rights is declining at District and State level. Key lessons for land policy and land administration include: Ostrom's design principles being a precondition rather than a panacea; commons institutions requiring one clear ownership party; both public and collective ownership producing success; publically owned commons requiring a local representative; small membership numbers being preferable; small shareholdings not being preferable; decentralized governance being beneficial; internal democratic elections being beneficial; internal boundary records being superfluous; explicit sanctions being superfluous; mixed economies being acceptable; and geography being a significant influence on the longevity of pastoral commons.     

宅基地整治对农村耐用消费品购买影响分析

研究目的：在宅基地整治内涵分析的基础上,以农村家庭为单位,分析了宅基地整治对农村耐用消费品购买的影响。研究方法：建立多元线性回归模型,测算宅基地整治对农村家庭耐用消费品的影响因素及其显著性关系。研究结果：新房面积、社保覆盖情况、人均纯收入和家庭生命周期对家庭耐用消费品购买具有正向影响,宅基地置换剩余金额对家庭耐用消费品购买具有负向影响;其中新房面积和家庭人均纯收入的影响最为显著。研究结论：宅基地整治对增加家庭耐用消费品投资、改变农村消费结构和扩大国内消费需求具有显著作用。     

A spatial econometric analysis of land use efficiency in large and small municipalities

We estimate the relationship between urban spatial expansion and its socio-economic determinants in Lombardy, the most urbanised region of Italy (and one of the most of the European Union), at the municipality level. Test results suggest that this relationship varies significantly among municipalities of different size and findings support the hypothesis that larger ones are more efficient in managing land take. In particular, we find that the marginal land consumption per new household is inversely related to the size of the municipality and we link this evidence to the fact that, since more space is often available, small municipalities pay less institutional attention to the issue of land take and consequently internalise less the environmental externalities. This evidence calls for a reflection on the role of planning policies and the effectiveness of undifferentiated measures to contain land take, especially in the case of Italy, where the municipalities, more than 99% of which have less than 50,000 inhabitants, decide on land use transformations.