Jurisdictional Size and Residential Development: Are Large-Scale Local Governments More Receptive to Multifamily Housing?

2021 ◽  
pp. 107808742098859
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Marantz ◽  
Paul G. Lewis

In the United States, particularly in high-cost urban areas, local resistance to multifamily housing development has been widely noted. In many metropolitan areas, legal authority over land-use regulation is assigned to jurisdictions that often are very small, and some scholars argue that this small-scale local control institutionalizes neighborhood-level opposition to new construction. Using census tracts as units of analysis, we assess the relationship between the population size of the city, county, or township that regulates a tract’s land use and the change in multifamily units between two recent waves of the American Community Survey (2008–2012 and 2014–2018). Results of regression analysis indicate that larger jurisdictional population size is indeed associated with increased multifamily construction. However, the relationship applies only for jurisdictions with populations exceeding 100,000 and decays at jurisdictional populations of more than 1 million. This nonlinearity may reflect quasi-monopolistic land-use control in the largest jurisdictions.

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 524-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rizalino B. Cruz

Many studies on energy generation have focused on large-scale systems. But as the search for alternative sources of clean energy becomes imperative, there is the need to examine how local governments leverage their authority on land use to permit small-scale energy facilities. This study examines various factors shaping policy adoption on distributed renewable energy generation through the lens of transaction-cost politics. It deviates from existing land-use perspectives, which usually highlight competition between traditional land-use forces to capture the gains from policy. Policy adoption here implies that actors in their exchanges have been able to identify and reduce the transaction costs that would otherwise have prevented citizens from harvesting renewable energy at their place of residence. These actors minimize transaction costs by making use of the transaction resources available to them in the political market. These resources could ease barriers to political contracting and enable actors to shape policy. They include green firms, network memberships, dedicated staff for the sustainability effort, forms of government, and educated populace, which the study found significant in shaping the adoption of zoning codes that permit distributed renewable energy generation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vibhas Sukhwani ◽  
Arie Nurzaman ◽  
Nadia Paramitha Kusumawardhani ◽  
Anwaar Mohammed AlHinai ◽  
Liu Hanyu ◽  
...  

Narrowing the food supply-demand gaps between urban and rural areas within a regional space has today become a serious challenge due to the growing urban population. Resultantly, urban markets are increasingly being dominated by industrial food chains, despite their negative socio-environmental impacts. To address this issue, this paper discusses the need and significance of ‘Collaborative Food Alliances’ (CFAs), which promote the direct supply of food products from rural farmers to urban residents through improved producer–consumer relationships. Based on the literature survey, this study underlines that the current CFAs are confronted with several challenges including the small scale of functioning and limited financing. While the current research on CFAs is focused on theoretical place-based studies, this paper argues that institutionalization of CFAs at a large scale is highly important for enhancing food security in urban areas. It mainly deliberates on two key aspects: (a) The process of institutionalizing CFAs and (b) A feasible financing mechanism to support CFAs. This paper emphasizes that urban local governments have a central role to play in institutionalizing CFAs, either as a lead agency or as a facilitator. It concludes with specific suggestions on three key determinants of multi-stakeholder engagement, financial constraints and policy coordination at a regional level.


2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Bibby ◽  
John Henneberry ◽  
Jean-Marie Halleux

Urban compaction policies have been widely adopted in developed countries in pursuit of more sustainable cities. Compactness is achieved through a process of ‘densification’, of developing and using land and buildings more intensively. However, empirical evidence on the processes and outcomes of urban densification is lacking. The paper addresses this lacuna. It considers densification in England, a country that has long experience of applying policies of urban containment and consolidation; and one where new data sources allow the analysis of recent land use change at a level of detail not hitherto possible. In England between 2001 and 2011, the bulk of additional dwellings were accommodated within urban areas, increasing their density. Yet, there were wide inter- and intra-regional variations in the pattern of densification: for example, in the contributions of large scale, formal development and of small scale, informal, gradual change – of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ densification – to the process. The significant differences in local experiences of densification that result raise major issues for policy.


Author(s):  
Hiroki Baba ◽  
Yasushi Asami

This study examines regional differences in local environment factors to better understand the sustainability of local governments indexed by per capita public spending. Under the condition of heterogeneous population size, we examine how factor characteristics differ depending on the spatial context represented by the urban area category. By employing a Cobb–Douglas cost function with congestion effects on public service provision, the estimated factors enable us to articulate major factors and differences in cost-efficiency between urban area categories. We found that statistical significance and even the signatures of local environment factors differ depending on the urban employment area category. Regarding factors such as the ratios of employees in secondary and tertiary industries, these did not tend to be statistically significant in small-sized urban areas, while small-sized cities in large-sized urban areas were likely to gain confidence intervals. Moreover, we did not observe any statistical significance for the ratio of elderly people due to the balance of spending between national and local governments. These findings could contribute to sustainable management of cities in the advent of population decline.


Author(s):  
Jane J. Aggrey ◽  
Mirjam A. F. Ros-Tonen ◽  
Kwabena O. Asubonteng

AbstractArtisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa creates considerable dynamics in rural landscapes. Many studies addressed the adverse effects of mining, but few studies use participatory spatial tools to assess the effects on land use. Hence, this paper takes an actor perspective to analyze how communities in a mixed farming-mining area in Ghana’s Eastern Region perceive the spatial dynamics of ASM and its effects on land for farming and food production from past (1986) to present (2018) and toward the future (2035). Participatory maps show how participants visualize the transformation of food-crop areas into small- and large-scale mining, tree crops, and settlement in all the communities between 1986 and 2018 and foresee these trends to continue in the future (2035). Participants also observe how a mosaic landscape shifts toward a segregated landscape, with simultaneous fragmentation of their farming land due to ASM. Further segregation is expected in the future, with attribution to the expansion of settlements being an unexpected outcome. Although participants expect adverse effects on the future availability of food-crop land, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the anticipated effect on food availability. The paper argues that, if responsibly applied and used to reveal community perspectives and concerns about landscape dynamics, participatory mapping can help raise awareness of the need for collective action and contribute to more inclusive landscape governance. These findings contribute to debates on the operationalization of integrated and inclusive landscape approaches and governance, particularly in areas with pervasive impacts of ASM.


2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (12) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Craggs ◽  
L. Golding ◽  
S. Clearwater ◽  
L. Susarla ◽  
W. Donovan

Chironomid midge larvae are a valuable component of wastewater stabilisation pond (WSP) ecology. However, in high numbers, adult midge swarms can be a nuisance to near-by urban areas. Improving WSP treatment by incorporating aerobic or maturation ponds or by the addition of pre-treatment to reduce organic loading also increases the availability of aerobic sediment (midge larva habitat) in the pond system and the potential for midge nuisance problems. The efficacy of Maldison, an organophosphate traditionally used to control midge larvae in New Zealand WSPs, was compared to Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti), Methoprene, Pyriproxyfen and Diflubenzuron which are all more specific to insects and have fewer adverse environmental effects. Initial laboratory trials established the concentration of each compound required to achieve 95% control of the midge population. During 21-day small-scale trials within the WSP, Bti, Diflubenzuron and Maldison reduced live larvae numbers substantially (80–89%) compared to controls and adult midge emergence was markedly reduced by all compounds (72–96%). Large-scale trials with Bti (Vectobac® WG) powder (1000 μg/L) only caused a slight reduction in midge larvae numbers compared to controls and had little effect on adult emergence, however, Methoprene (Prolink XRG granules) (50 μgAI/L) reduced midge adult emergence by ∼80% over 25 days and has been used successfully to control several midge nuisance outbreaks.


Author(s):  
Emma L. Rearick ◽  
Gregory L. Newmark

Automobile use is recognized as affecting public health, environmental sustainability, land use, and household expense. Car use is closely tied to car ownership rates. Most car ownership research focuses on urban areas; however, 97% of the United States’ land area and a fifth of its population remains rural. Factors that affect car ownership in these communities may be different than in more urbanized areas. This research focuses on the 2,285 counties in the continental United States that are defined as entirely rural by the guidelines established in the Agricultural Act of 2014. These counties were grouped by five multi-state regions using U.S. Census Bureau definitions. Their percentage changes in car ownership, as well as other demographic variables, over a quarter century were calculated using data from the 1990 Decennial Census and the 2014 5-Year American Community Survey. A multiple regression model was estimated for each grouping to identify counties with lower-than-expected changes in car ownership. For each grouping, one of these outlying counties was selected and matched with another county whose changes in car ownership were within expected ranges given demographic developments. Local professionals were then interviewed to identify policies possibly responsible for the difference in car ownership trends between the matched-pair counties. The interviews suggested that, contrary to expectation, transportation policies had no discernable effect on rural car ownership, but land use polices and, more often, cultural factors linked to changing populations were associated with reduced rural car ownership.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aeriel D Belk ◽  
Toni Duarte ◽  
Casey Quinn ◽  
David A. Coil ◽  
Keith E. Belk ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. The United States’ large-scale poultry meat industry is energy and water intensive, and opportunities may exist to improve sustainability during the broiler chilling process. After harvest, the internal temperature of the chicken is rapidly cooled to inhibit bacterial growth that would otherwise compromise the safety of the product. This step is accomplished most commonly by water immersion chilling in the United States, while air chilling methods dominate other global markets. A comprehensive understanding of the differences between these chilling methods is lacking. Therefore, we assessed the meat quality, shelf-life, microbial ecology, and technoeconomic impacts of chilling methods on chicken broilers in a university meat laboratory setting. Results. We discovered that air-chilling (AC) methods resulted in superior chicken odor and shelf-life, especially prior to 14 days of dark storage. Moreover, we demonstrated that AC resulted in a more diverse microbiome that we hypothesize may delay the dominance of the spoilage organism Pseudomonas. Finally, a technoeconomic analysis highlighted potential economic advantages to AC when compared to water-chilling (WC) in facility locations where water costs are a more significant factor than energy costs. Conclusions. In this pilot study, AC chilling methods resulted in a superior product compared to WC methods and may have economic advantages in regions of the U.S. where water is expensive. As a next step, a similar experiment should be done in an industrial setting to confirm these results generated in a small-scale university lab facility.


Author(s):  
Abdul Rachman Rasyid ◽  
Andi Lukman Irwan ◽  
Laode Muhammad Asfan Mujahid ◽  
Ihsan ◽  
Mimi Arifin ◽  
...  

Wajo Regency is one of the districts that have a role in the development and progress of South Sulawesi Province. Therefore, agricultural production facilities will be developed through processing mechanisms to the creative industries. Irrigation will be directed at the development of large-scale and small-scale rural irrigation through artificial embankments, revitalization of swamps and lakes. Whereas in urban areas a residential environment will be held an adjustment, especially near the of Lake Tempe in the area of ​​Sengkang as the Capital of Wajo Regency. The purpose of this study is to find easy access for the community to drinking water and to provide accurate data related to Geographic Information System (GIS)-based regional location conditions. The approach used in this activity is a field survey related to the existing condition of the location by assisting the community, increasing knowledge by training or counseling aimed at solving existing problems in the village / subdistrict in Tempe Subdistrict, Wajo Regency, as well as training and utilizing digital databases related to the profile and potential of the city. The results of the study obtained were that some districts had several problems, namely, solid waste systems, road networks, inadequate buildings and inadequate clean water especially in Attakae, Maddukelleng, Pattirosompe and Tempe. However, there is potential that can be developed to improve the regional economy, such as the silk industry and wood industry.


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