PARENT SESSION
Symposium #19: Cities of Resilience: Integrating Ecology into Urban Planning, Design, Policy, and Management .
Organized by: L Musacchio and J Wu
Wednesday, August 7. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Leo Rich Theatre.
Exurban residential development: Effects on public perception and water quality.
NASSAUER, JOAN*,1, ALLAN, J. DAVID1, KOSEK, SANDRA1, INFANTE, DANA1, 1 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR, MI
ABSTRACT- We investigated how alternative designs for exurban residential development in agricultural landscapes could affect aquatic ecosystems. This investigation is part of a larger study intended to help decision-makers anticipate the ecological effects of landscape changes in exurbanizing landscapes, which investigates: 1) landscape variables that predict stream degradation, 2) alternative ecological design strategies for exurbanizing areas, and their cultural and economic acceptability, and 3) implications for land use policy, design, and management . We designed several ecologically beneficial and conventional alternative site development scenarios that were plausible for our study area: the Huron and Raisin River watersheds in the Detroit CMSA. Then, we measured landcover proportions of each development scenario and identified small subwatersheds in our study area (ranging from 3 to 12 square km) that exhibited landcover in the same proportions. We selected 2 small subwatersheds to represent each scenario, and we held soil associations constant across the sample. To compare possible water quality effects of the alternative landscape scenarios, we measured the chemistry of the first order stream in each of the representative subwatersheds. Streams in subwatersheds representing ecologically beneficial residential landscape designs had lower nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments than streams that represented conventional development or agricultural land uses. Nutrient concentrations were highest in agricultural settings and sediments were highest in developing areas. To compare public perceptions of the alternative scenarios, we conducted a web-based survey of approximately 400 suburban and exurban residents of southeastern Michigan. Respondents viewed digital imaging simulations of each of the scenarios as they would be seen from other homes in the area, and they rated their perceptions on several bi-polar adjective scales. Ecologically beneficial scenarios were perceived as most acceptable. Rankings of stream chemistry results are similar to rankings of public perception results for exurban residential development.
KEY WORDS: landscape change, aquatic ecosystems, exurban development, public perception