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Modeling Infill and Urban Growth to Evaluate Agricultural Conversion in Lake County, FL. By Blake Harvey October 21, 2011 Committee Chair: Dr. Paul Zwick Associate Member: Dr. Andres Blanco. Presentation Summary. Research Question Literature Review Methodology Infill Analysis
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Modeling Infill and Urban Growth to Evaluate Agricultural Conversion in Lake County, FL By Blake Harvey October 21, 2011 Committee Chair: Dr. Paul Zwick Associate Member: Dr. Andres Blanco
Presentation Summary • Research Question • Literature Review • Methodology • Infill Analysis • LUCIS Scenarios • Agricultural Analysis • Results • Discussion
Research Question To what extent can agricultural conversion be prevented in Lake County, Florida, if intensive urban infill is used to accommodate future urban growth? 1. Research Question
Agricultural Conversion • …is a problem • - By 1997, one million acres of farmland per year were being lost to “suburban sprawl”, with 150,000 acres/year in Florida, the fastest rate in the nation (Daniels and Bowers, p.1-2, 1997) • One third of all agricultural land in Lake County was lost between 2002 and 2007 (USDA, 2007) • …occurs because • as development encroaches, the “fair market” value increases (Herndon, et al., p.34-35, 1982) • soils suitable for agriculture are often excellent for development as well • conflict with new neighbors and competition over water resources (Daniels and Bowers, 1997) 2. Literature Review
Urban Infill (Image from http://www.ptank.com/blog/2008/12/wordless-wednesday-sf-vacant-lot/) The development of vacant, underutilized, or abandoned land within urbanized areas. (Real Estate Research Corporation, 1982)
How can Infill mitigate Agricultural Conversion? • A greater proportion of new growth occurring within cities reduces pressure to expand on the urban fringe (Scott, 2010) • Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs can preserve agriculture by offering incentives to developers to develop within cities instead of on the fringe (Scott, 2010) • Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) can restrict fringe growth beyond a certain point, encouraging development of vacant land (Daniels and Bowers, 1997) 2. Literature Review
Methodology – Infill Modeling • “Infill areas” were created, using principles from Peter Calthorpe’sNext American Metropolis (1993) • Core Commercial Areas (CCAs) were chosen, based on retail viability and proximity to downtown areas (as opposed to strip malls) • Two levels of infill areas were created: more intensive Transit Oriented Developments and more suburban Secondary Areas • Property parcel data was used to allocate new residential and commercial uses to vacant parcels, based on suitability data, parcel size, and location • Estimates of new population and new employment were calculated 3. Methodology
Methodology – Urban Growth Scenarios Five scenarios for new urban growth in Lake County for the year 2040 were created, using medium-level population projections which show an increase of 223,648 persons over the next thirty years (Smith and Rayer, 2011). Growth allocation was completed using LUCIS methodology as described in Smart Land Use Analysis (Carr and Zwick, 2007). Urban growth was modeled in cells with less land use conflict first. 3. Methodology
Methodology – Agricultural Analysis Agricultural losses were calculated for: Acres of farm properties Yields for crops that would likely be grown on these farms (i.e. oranges and grapefruit for citrus cropland) Dollar value of each yield lost • Results for the urban growth scenarios were spatially compared to farms; where growth occurred, the farm was considered to be lost • Where yields overlapped, they were divided (equally for field crops and 9:1 for citrus) to produce an estimation of total losses 3. Methodology
Infill Results • 1,347 acres of urban infill • 950 acres residential • 372 acres commercial • 25 acres mixed use • 35,173 new residents • 23,455 new jobs Leesburg, Lake County, Florida 4. Results
Urban Growth and Agricultural Results 4. Results
4. Results “Trend” Scenario (new growth density same as GUD, infill areas ignored) 133,189 acres of lost farmland (69% loss) $189,654,997 of lost crops (76% loss) 119,498 acres of new urban growth (75% increase) 0 acres of urban infill
First Infill Scenario (new growth density same as GUD, infill results included) 115,485 acres of lost farmland (60% loss) $165,463,388 of lost crops (67% loss) 100,800 acres of new urban growth (64% increase) 1,347 acres of urban infill 4. Results
Second Infill Scenario (new growth density 1.5 times GUD, infill results included) 81,828 acres of lost farmland (42% loss) $119,304,716 of lost crops (48% loss) 67,224 acres of new urban growth (42% increase) 1,347 acres of urban infill 4. Results
Third Infill Scenario (new growth density two times GUD, infill results included) 59,432 acres of lost farmland (31% loss) $89,796,050 of lost crop yield (36% loss) 50,280 acres of new urban growth (32% increase) 1,347 acres of urban infill 4. Results
Infill Only Scenario (infill areas built out; no other growth) 522 acres of lost farmland (0.27% loss) $1,021,655 of lost crop yield (0.41% loss) 0 acres of new urban growth (0% increase) 3,333 acres of urban infill 4. Results
Discussion of Results If urban growth in Lake County continues at the present gross urban density (GUD), significant agricultural conversion will result. Intensive urban infill will reduce these losses to some degree, but a majority of the county’s agriculture still faces conversion The Second and Third infill scenarios suggest that at least for this study area, higher new growth densities are more effective at curbing sprawl than infill is. 5. Discussion
Recommendations for Further Research Repeat similar modeling exercises for new study areas with different conditions Simulate the effect of policies such as Urban Growth Boundaries and Transfer of Development Rights in reducing agricultural conversion 5. Discussion
References Carr, M, & Zwick, P. (2007). Smart land use analysis: the lucis model. Redlands, CA: ESRI Press. Calthorpe, P. (1993). The next American metropolis: Ecology, community, and the American dream. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Daniels, T. L., & Bowers, D. (1997). Holding our ground: Protecting America's farms and farmland. Washington, D.C: Island Press. Scott, Jean. (2010). Florida planning toolbox, Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida. Retrieved from http://www.cues.FAU.edu/toolbox/about_us.asp Smith, S. & Rayer, S. (2011). Projections of florida population by county, 2010–2040.Florida Population Studies, 44(159), 1-8. United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2007). The census of agriculture Retrieved from http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/About_the_Census/index.asp