To pave or not to pave: A social landscape analysis of land use decision-making in the towns of the lamprey watershedudud

摘要

Population pressure in coastal New Hampshire challenges land use decision-making and threatens the ecologicaludhealth and functioning of Great Bay, an estuary designated as both a NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserveudand an EPA National Estuary Program site. Regional population in the seacoast has quadrupled in four decadesudresulting in sprawl, increased impervious surface cover and larger lot rural development (Zankel, et.al., 2006). All ofudGreat Bay’s contributing watersheds face these challenges, resulting in calls for strategies addressing growth,uddevelopment and land use planning. The communities within the Lamprey River watershed comprise this case study.udDo these towns communicate upstream and downstream when making land use decisions? Are cumulative effectsudconsidered while debating development? Do town land use groups consider the Bay or the coasts in their decision-making?ududThis presentation, a follow-up from the TCS 2008 conference and a completed dissertation, will discuss a noveludsocial science approach to analyze and understand the social landscape of land use decision-making in the towns ofudthe Lamprey River watershed. The methods include semi-structured interviews with GIS based maps in a groundedudtheory analytical strategy. The discussion will include key findings, opportunities and challenges in moving towardsuda watershed approach for land use planning. This presentation reviews the results of the case study and developed methodology, which can be used in watersheds elsewhere to map out the potential for moving towns towards EBM and watershed-scaled, land use planning. (PDF contains 4 pages)