PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #12: Landscape Ecology: Theory and application. Presiding: C. Johnston.
Monday, August 6, 2001. 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Madison Ballroom D.
Housing density change 1940-1990 in the U.S. Midwest.
Radeloff, Volker1, Hammer, Roger1, Voss, Paul1, Field, Donald1, 1
ABSTRACT- The impact of human habitation on ecosystems is widely acknowledged, but few studies quantify the relationship between socioeconomic and ecological indicators across entire regions. Satellite classification and other GIS data sources provide a wealth of ecological data covering large areas with high spatial resolution, while historic time series permit the analysis of change. The lack of comparable socioeconomic data is a major impediment to the integration of ecology and social science. Our objective is to conduct a spatially detailed assessment of housing density change across the U.S. Midwest from 1940 to 1990 to provide baseline data that can be integrated with ecological indicators. Our analysis is based on 1990 U.S. Census data. We developed innovative demographic methods to adjust spatially detailed historic housing densities estimated from the 1990 census with county estimates available for each decade. GIS analysis was conducted to extract the highest possible level of spatial detail from the TIGER files. Our results show the dynamic nature of housing density change. Metropolitan areas experienced high growth especially in the suburban fringe. Rural areas witnessed little housing growth up to 1970, but strong increases thereafter, especially in areas with high recreational value (e.g., abundant lakes). Our results illustrate the magnitude of ecosystem change due to housing growth as well as the potential for the integration of ecological and social data in a spatially explicit framework across entire regions.
KEY WORDS: landscape ecology, habitat fragmentation, ecosystem change, urban ecology