Elizabeth Brabec

Visual preferences for wind turbines: Location, numbers and respondent characteristics

Kristina Molnarova et al. — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:59 PST

There is a dichotomy in the view of wind farms among members of the public: on one hand, there is a desire for renewable energy sources, and on the other hand, there is a major concern about the visual impact of wind turbines used for power production. This concern for visual impact is a major factor in the reaction of the public to the development of new wind farms. Our study aims to objectify this influence and to establish the factors that determine how people evaluate these structures. We tested the visual quality of landscapes in which these structures are to be placed, the number of structures and their distance from the viewer, and various characteristics of our respondents. We found that the physical attributes of the landscape and wind turbines influenced the respondents’ reactions far more than socio-demographic and attitudinal factors. One of the most important results of our study is the sensitivity of respondents to the placement of wind turbines in landscapes of high aesthetic quality, and, on the other hand, a relatively high level of acceptance of these structures in unattractive landscapes. Wind turbines also receive better acceptance if the number of turbines in a landscape is limited, and if the structures are kept away from observation points, such as settlements, transportation infrastructure and viewpoints. The most important characteristic of the respondents that influenced their evaluation was their attitude to wind power. On the basis of these results, recommendations are presented for placing wind turbines and for protecting the character of the landscape within the planning and policy making processes.

Regional land pattern assessment: development of a resource efficiency measurement method

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:12:48 PST

Debate on the sustainability of human settlements has recently been focused primarily on the urban portion of the land use pattern. However, urban areas rely on suburban, rural, and other less densely settled lands for their existence. In order to quantify the impacts of various land patterns on their supporting resources, these exurban lands must be included in any sustainability assessment. This need for a regional view has resulted in a measurement method that enables comparisons of relative sustainability between various regional land use patterns. Existing methods employed to assess urban sustainability are reviewed and compared with the regional characteristic curves method, introduced here, that takes a more holistic regional view. Results from the application of the method are presented, displaying the spatial dimension it brings to the analysis of illustrative primary metrics as well as demonstrating its ability to spatially quantify change in these metrics over time.

Agricultural land fragmentation: the spatial effects of three land protection strategies in the eastern United States

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:05:48 PST

Fragmentation of agricultural land by urban sprawl affects both the agricultural production capacity of the land and its rural scenic quality. In order to assess the resulting fragmentation of the three most common types of agricultural land conservation tools in the United States, this study analyzes the spatial form of three land protection strategies: a purchase of development rights (PDR) program, a clustering program and a transfer of development rights program. By assessing a series of measures of success such as total acreage protected, size of parcels, contiguity and farming status, the study compares the effectiveness of programs that have been in place for approximately 20 years, analyzing the extent to which each program prevents or enhances fragmentation. The analysis shows that although the number of acres protected is an important factor in program success, the amount of protected land remaining in active farming is additionally influenced by any development rights that may remain with the land, the use of a variety of tools to reduce the likelihood of parcel isolation, and the adjacency and contiguity of protected parcels.

An evaluation of the effectiveness of cluster development in the Town of Southampton, New York

Elizabeth Brabec — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:13:04 PST

Clustering new development, and as a result retaining protected open space, has been a simultaneously much touted and much maligned planning tool. Its relative merits as a tool to preserve farmland, open space and rural character have been debated for the past 40 years. To place this debate in context, this study presents a detailed, on the ground analysis of the physical and spatial results of 20 years of the Town of Southampton, New York’s cluster ordinance. The analysis finds that although the tool was surprisingly effective in maintaining land in farming, the effects on visual quality were much less successful.

Slave Landscapes of the Carolina Low Country: What the Documents Reveal

Elizabeth Brabec — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:33:54 PDT

Although much has been written about slave life in the antebellum south, comparatively little is understood about the physical setting of slave communities and their day-to-day life. Due to the lack of written documentation and few sketches, paintings or other images, the documentation of the physical setting of slave life is more difficult to compile than that of the plantation owners or even indentured servants. By completing a structured analysis of existing documentary evidence for a specific region of the South, the low country of South Carolina, the myths and realities of slave life in this region can be clarified. This paper reviews the methodological approach to analyzing the documentary evidence and presents a representative sample of the results.

Defining the Pattern of the Sustainable Urban Region - Development of Regional Measurement Methods

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 10:44:17 PST

To date, the debate on the sustainability of human settlements has focused on the urban portion of the land use pattern. Since urban areas rely on suburban, rural, and other less densely settled areas for their existence, these areas must be included in any sustainability assessment. This need for a regional view has resulted in a typology of regional form, which allows comparisons of relative sustainability between various regional land use patterns. Based on resource efficiency, this regional analysis includes measurements related to water, agricultural land, habitat, energy use, and transportation and identifies primary indicators for each category. Existing methods employed to assess urban sustainability are reviewed and compared with two new methods, introduced here, that take a more holistic regional view: population density zones and regional characteristic curves. Future work to fully evaluate the properties of these new methods by applying them to a variety of regional form types is described.

Local Surface Water Policy Under Conditions of Climate Change

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 09:22:11 PST

Climate change means two things for local stormwater managers – that storm events will become more severe, and rainfall will, in many instances, become more erratic, causing enhanced periods of drought and flood. Two approaches are needed to deal with the eventualities: mitigation and adaptation.

While urbanization increases stormwater runoff and decreases the lag time of stormwater discharge, there is also a resulting lack of infiltration and reduction in evapotranspiration (Brunke and Gonser 1997). Stormwater detention, retention and infiltration have attempted to compensate, resulting in the concentrated point location infiltration of stormwater, which replenishes groundwater and baseflow. Equally important to local hydrology and ecosystems, however, is the presence of moisture in the upper two feet of soil that is available for plant uptake and evapotranspiration across the landscape. If absent, and evapotranspiration is decreased, the result is a troubling trend of increasing desertification (Richards and Brabec 2003). Mitigation of this trend requires diffuse infiltration across broad areas of greenspace, with an emphasis on urban and suburban forest systems.

Therefore BMP and urban greenspace systems will have to deal with larger, more erratic storm events, the ability to store rainfall to compensate for drought conditions, and the requirement of broad, watershed-wide infiltration to mitigate against desertification trends. These changes implicate the need for increased green infrastructure and reinforce a conundrum emerging in the planning and design of urban space in response to climate change imperatives. On the one hand, mitigation requires dense communities that minimize indices per capita such as vehicle miles travelled and impervious surfaces. On the other hand, adaptation requires an emphasis on urban greening and increased areas of open space to mitigate the trend towards desertification, increases in urban temperatures, increasing fluctuations in rainfall and other key ecological functions.

An analysis of case study responses to climate change indicate that urban space to address the twin faces of climate change planning will likely come from two related responses: the first is through more intensive multiple use of existing open space in urban metropolitan areas, and the second is actual removal of some roads with corridors that serve transit and adaptation functions. The resulting design and location of roads, transportation systems, stormwater management systems, urban development patterns and the green infrastructure that support all of those land uses will be substantially different under conditions of climate change.

Identifying cultural attitudes and values in community landscapes

Elizabeth Brabec — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 09:17:02 PST

Understanding culture and its attitudes and values towards space, place and nature is a critical aspect in determining appropriate approaches to a wide variety of planning actions. Actions such as gaining support for protected areas, designing new developments, and integrating tourism facilities in existing communities all depend on an understanding of cultural norms and values for their success. But understanding the relationship between cultural attitudes and culturally defined space can be difficult, falling prey to the observer’s own cultural norms and biases. This project uses a method based on individual interviews and expert observation of physical traces, to develop an understanding of cultural attitudes and values towards land, nature and proxemics.

This case study of three cultural groups in Belize compares and contrasts the village patterns and personal landscapes of three villages with widely differing landscapes. About the size of Massachusetts, Belize is home to a diverse population of ethnic groups with widely different cultures and visibly different development patterns. The Garifuna, descendants of African slaves shipwrecked on St. Vincent, inhabit villages on the coast in central Belize. The Mayan villages are predominantly two linguistic types, Mopan or Kechi and inhabit the highlands of southern and southwestern Belize. Many moved to these areas during periods of civil unrest in Guatemala during the 20th century. The third cultural group, the Creole, are descendants of African slaves brought to Belize to work in the logwood trade and on plantations, and include European cultural heritage descending from plantation owner-slave parentage. Creole communities proliferate through the northern and coastal areas of Belize. This study observed the three predominant cultures as expressed in three different villages: Garifuna in the coastal village of Hopkins, Mayan in the southern highlands village of San Jose, and the northern lowlands Creole village of Crooked Tree.

Data was collected through participant interviews and expert observation of physical trace during two case study visits made during the month of March in 2007 and 2008 by two teams of students. The data illustrates two critical findings: first, how widely different the living spaces and personal landscapes of three cultures can be, even when located in villages located in close proximity, and secondly, how clues in the personal, home landscapes of community members give valuable clues to their attitudes and values with respect to nature, land and protected areas.

Pluzina: the issues of documenting a vernacular landscape

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:48:35 PST

This paper studies the remnants of medieval pluzina, a historical Central European field pattern dating to the 13th or 14th century A.D. In medieval Czech, pluzina meant the crop fields, meadows, pastures and roads belonging to one village. Today, pluzinas are visible as patterns of long, narrow fields defined by hedgerows. Due to the hedgerows make the pattern visible, pluzinas are attractive parts of farming landscapes, similar to bocage landscapes found in Northern England, Scotland or Brittany. During the last 150 years, the majority of these landscape structures have vanished, owing either to the intensification of agriculture, or abandonment to reforestation. As the first comprehensive study of pluzinas in the Czech Republic is being completed, the question of the actual age of the hedgerows in this medieval landscape has come to the fore. It is unclear whether the hedgerows (as opposed to the field pattern) are actually of medieval origin, and whether it is even possible to determine (under economic constraints) the original date of this landscape feature. Since the answers to these questions are not clearly supported by either archaeological or documentary evidence, is it even necessary to conclusively date this landscape feature to assign historical or cultural landscape value? These are the questions that have emerged as researchers struggle to justify the critical importance of this landscape feature. Although we know that the ownership and land cultivation patterns are of medieval origin, accurately dating the hedgerows is much more challenging. The importance of this unique landscape is critical as the form and landscape pattern has continued to disappear; 71% of the hedgerows were lost during the socialist period between 1950 and 2005, and those losses are further compounded with losses under post-socialist ownership land consolidation efforts. This paper will discuss an approach for defining the critical features of historic and culturally vernacular landscapes that accepts the vagaries of vegetative features, features which cannot be conclusively dated to the stated period of landscape significance. We will illustrate the differences in European and US approaches to quantifying historic vernacular resources by applying the various regimes for European and American documentation and analysis (US Secretary of the Interior Standards; European Union standards; UNESCO standards for World Heritage designation). The questions of historical integrity and significance are critical, particularly as policies for the legal protection of pluzina landscapes and the methodological guidelines for management are developed.

A Clash of Cultures: The Landscape of the Sea Island Gullah

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 09:00:01 PDT

Home to the Gullah people, the Sea Islands in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia contain a culturally and ecologically distinct landscape. Descendents of plantation slaves brought to the United States between 1640 and 1850, the Gullah community has maintained a cultural identity that is reflected in a landscape pattern that is often at odds with dominant American culture. By analyzing the history of the development of Gullah culture, the genesis, contemporary meanings, and significance of the Gullah landscape pattern can be read. This article develops an understanding of the Gullah concepts of land ownership, place, community and proxemics, and places those in the context of modern growth management planning issues.

Can we Protect Agricultural Land and the Scenic Rural Landscape? The spatial effects of three land protection strategies in the eastern United States

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 07:50:02 PDT

In order to assess the efficacy of the three most common types of agricultural land conservation in the United States, this study analyzes the spatial and visual quality of a purchase of development rights program and two regulatory programs — cluster and the transfer of development rights. The study compares the effectiveness of programs that have been in place for periods of 6 to 18 years, surveying three different communities in the urban fringe: 1. the transfer of development rights program in Montgomery County, Maryland, in effect since 1981, 2. Riverhead, New York’s farmland development rights acquisition program, administered by the County, in effect since 1977, and 3. Southampton, New York’s cluster development program, in effect since 1982. These programs are compared to determine the number of acres of land that remains in active farming, in addition to evaluating the spatial configuration in the context of both agricultural business and visual quality of the remaining farmland.

Fragmentation, Impervious Surfaces and Water Quality: Quantifying the effects of density and spatial arrangement

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 07:38:07 PDT

Impervious surfaces have for many years been recognized as an indicator of the intensity of the urban environment and, with the advent of urban sprawl, they have become a key issue in habitat health. In addition to the direct impacts to water quality, impervious surfaces fragment open space and habitat and are therefore a primary land use indicator of both water quality and ecological degradation. This paper develops an understanding of the land use planning implications of the interaction of impervious surfaces, water quality and the spatial form those surfaces take in a watershed. In order to clarify these relationships, the analysis relies on two levels of information: 1) a review of the literature to determine the extent to which the density and placement of impervious surfaces has been found to affect water quality; and 2) modeling three types of residential developments to determine their effects on impervious surface ratios as well as their effect on both habitat fragmentation and water quality.

Land Planning and Development Mitigation for Protecting Water Quality in the Great Lakes System: An Evaluation of US Approaches

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:04:01 PST

Since 1978, studies by the International Joint Commission (the bi-national commission mandated to protect the Great Lakes) have shown increasing water quality stress due to urban non-point source pollution. The key question for the IJC today, as an international commission with no direct enforcement power, is how the IJC can be effective in getting the parties and their jurisdictions to improve management of non-point source pollution issues when the land use trigger is primarily a local government issue. To begin to answer this question, the primary objective of this current study is to assemble the latest data and analysis on the implementation of practical, efficient and effective land-based best management practices that minimize the impacts to Great Lakes water quality posed by urban and urbanizing development within the Great Lakes Basin. The focus of this report is two fold: first to analyze the current tools and techniques considered in the literature and practice to be stormwater best management practices that can act to mitigate the impact of urbanization on water quality. Secondly, given the status of the current understanding of watershed hydrology and the impacts of these best management practices, to answer two primary questions: 1) which tools and techniques, individually or in concert are the most effective in dealing with the water quality impacts of urban growth and development; and 2) what role can the IJC recommend for federal and state governments to play in the effort to support effective use of these tools in water quality planning and watershed development decisions.

Linking the Past to the Future: A Landscape Conservation Strategy for Waterford, Virginia

Elizabeth Brabec — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:17:29 PST

The report presents a planning strategy for protecting Waterford, an historic community located in Loudoun County, Virginia. The Waterford Historic District, including the village and surrounding farmland, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. In 1986, the National Park Service determined that Waterford was threatened by proposed new construction on an historic farm almost directly in the center of the Landmark. The report identifies alternative development strategies that would protect the historic integrity of the village landscape. These strategies were intended to be used in negotiations with local landowners, as negotiated but voluntary land conservation strategies.

Impervious Surfaces and Water Quality: A Review of Current Literature and Its Implications for Watershed Planning

Elizabeth Brabec — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:55:42 PST

Impervious surfaces have for many years been recognized as an indicator of the intensity of the urban environment and, with the advent of urban sprawl, they have become a key issue in habitat health. Although a considerable amount of research has been done to define impervious thresholds for water quality degradation, there are a number of flaws in the assumptions and methodologies used. Given refinement of the methodology, accurate and usable parameters for preventative watershed planning can be developed, which include impervious surface thresholds and a balance between pervious and impervious surfaces within a watershed.

Land Planning and Development Mitigation for Protecting Water Quality in the Great Lakes System: An Evaluation of U.S. Approaches

Elizabeth Brabec et al. — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:06:19 PDT

A review of the land use/water quality interface of the Great Lakes system, and the monitoring programs in place. The paper reviews the weakness in the system and suggests opportunities for improvement.

Remnants of medieval field patterns - driving forces behind their disappearance, the role of hedgerows, principles of conservation

Blanka Pittnerova et al. — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:13:16 PDT

Imperviousness and Land Use Policy: Toward an effective approach to watershed planning

Elizabeth Brabec — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:02:59 PDT

Urban impacts to water quality and quantity have been a major focus of resource and ecosystem protection efforts since the early 1960s, focusing in the last decade on the impact of impervious thresholds. These are now commonly used as benchmarks of water quality planning and protection in local, watershed, and regional planning efforts. However, the relationship between urbanization and hydrologic impacts is much more complex than this cause-and-effect model would indicate, containing some weaknesses for effective growth management planning. This paper reviews the current literature to synthesize the development-related variables of hydrologic impairment, placing them in a context that is useful in growth management and development mitigation. Through this critical review of the literature, the paper focuses on an outstanding question in land planning: which best management practices, individually or in concert, are the most effective in dealing with the water quality impacts of urban growth and development? Research indicates two largely overlooked areas of potential improvement in water protection efforts: the location of impervious surfaces in the watershed, and the maintenance of adequate areas of forest stands and native vegetation.

Remnants of medieval field patterns in the Czech Republic: Analysis of driving forces behind their disappearance with special attention to the role of hedgerows

Petr Sklenicka et al. — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 09:36:56 PDT

Remnants of medieval field patterns, called “pluzina” in the Czech Republic, are valuable historical landscapes, similar in character to the bocage landscapes typical for some countries in Western Europe. The original historical pattern of fields and meadows has persisted due to the stabilizing network of hedgerows. As in other countries, the development of these medieval fields in recent decades for intensive agriculture or residential purposes has led to their dramatic decline. This study evaluates the dynamics of the development of medieval pluzina hedgerows during the second half of the 20th century in the Plzen Region of the Czech Republic, using three datasets from 1840, 1950 and 2005. Between 1950 and 2005, 341 out of 483 hedgerows disappeared in the study areas, and the total length of the hedgerows decreased by 71%. At the same time, the average hedgerow width increased from 7.2 m in 1950 to 13.1 m in 2005. The study further tests the influence of three natural factors (natural soil fertility, slope gradient and aspect) and of historical (1950) and current (2005) land uses on the disappearance of hedgerows. The most significant factor that has contributed to the disappearance of hedgerows is the current land use in adjacent areas, grassland being by far the most conducive to the persistence of pluzinas. In addition, current land use has significantly influenced the hedgerow dynamics when assessed in interactions with slope gradient and with historical land use. The results of the study further show a significant influence of natural soil fertility. Our findings confirm two main trends which lead to the disappearance of medieval land use systems. Extensification of agricultural land leads to its abandonment and to afforestation of fields adjacent to the hedgerows as a result of spontaneous succession. On the other hand, intensification means that land adjacent to the hedgerow is used as arable land and gradual expansion leads to field enlargement, hedgerow removal and consequently to the disappearance of the entire medieval field patterns. The paper also discusses the principles of conservation and restoration of these valuable historical landscapes.

Landscape Change: The influence of external cultural forces

Elizabeth Brabec — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:20:36 PDT

In the cultural ‘melting pot’ of a world economy, traditional, culturally-defined landscapes are being modified under a myriad of international influences. In this context, it is often difficult to identify the landscape and design forms that are key to maintaining local identity and a sense of place. Identifying these forms is critical in the planning process, as local planners and decision-makers attempt to integrate new, globally-influenced development patterns in local communities and at the same time create spaces and places that will not destroy local values and associations. The landscapes, their vectors, and the changes they engendered, will be used to illuminate the design decisions made as a result of absorbing one culture’s norms of land patterning into another.