|
  
     
|
 |
|
|
|
Problems: Land Consumption and Threat to Farmland
|
The agricultural landscape which surrounds most of our cities and towns is being converted to development at a still accelerating rate. Farmland is lost as subdivisions and malls with large parking lots are built. Asphalt replaces topsoil.
|
|
A scene we've all witnessed: development encroaching on farmland. This view is in the Nashville metro area. Photo by Gary Layda. Posted with permission of the Metropolitan Planning Department of Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee.
-- For a panoramic view of what used to be farmland in South Burlington, Vermont. Interestingly, what you'll see is now called Butler Farms.
|
Development at the Urban Fringe and Beyond: Impacts on Agriculture and Rural Land (USDA, Economic Research Service, Agricultural Economic Report No. 803. June 2001). This downloadable report includes excellent information on the relationship between agriculture and sprawl. To cite just one paragraph from the report's summary:
Development imposes direct costs on the communities experiencing it, as well as indirect costs in terms of the rural lands sacrificed to it. A number of studies show that less dense, unplanned development requires higher private and public capital and operating costs than more compact, denser planned development. Residential development requires $1.24 in expenditures for public services for every dollar it generates in tax revenues, on average. By contrast, farmland or open space generates only 38 cents in costs for each dollar in taxes paid.
The American Farmland Trust's Farmland Information Library contains a wealth of information about the relationship between sprawl and the loss of farmland. A variety of studies are available online from the Center for Agriculture in the Environment -- including case studies documenting how weak county, regional, and state planning policies (along with other factors) have contributed to the conversion of agricultural land into sprawling forms of residential, commercial, and industrial development. Other papers focus on different strategies for preserving farmland, such as purchase of development rights and conservation easements.
 |
| Farmland for sale in Town of Seneca, New York. This farmland is close to a Walmart, 84 Lumber, and several car dealerships. Photo by Shawna E. Armitage, Ontario County (NY) Dept. of Planning & Research. Posted by permission. |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in December 1999, released the results of its 1997 National Resources Inventory. The report indicates that the loss of farmland and other open space to development has more than doubled in recent years. Between 1992 and 1997, the rate of loss grew to 3.2 million acres a year.
-- Highlights from the report
-- Land Conversion in South Carolina: State Makes the Top 10 List (pdf format), by James B. London & Nicole L. Hill, analyzes data as applied to South Carolina.
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio web site has satellite images and information on "Urban Growth as Seen from Space." As noted on the web site: "Ask anyone who lives in D.C. or New York or Phoenix: urban growth is booming and it's having profound effects on people's lives. Now research data confirms it. Using sophisticated remote sensing systems, scientists have evidence of significant changes to regional geography."
|
|
The City of Sun Prairie is a northeast suburb of Madison, Wisconsin. To Sun Prairie's east is the Town of Sun Prairie. This picture is where city and town meet ... apartments in front of the silo. Photo by Tom Dabareiner; posted by permission.
|
|
|
|
 to top of page
|
