Habitat fragmentation is widely considered a primary threat to biodiversity. In this paper, we analyze incentive-based policies designed to reduce forest fragmentation in the coastal plain region of South Carolina. Our approach integrates an econometric model of land use with simulations that...

Residential land use in urban areas can be constrained by zoning or restrictive covenants. When covenants and zoning exist simultaneously, covenants can facilitate an efficient allocation of high-restriction and low-restriction residential land. However, covenants cannot remedy deadweight loss...

We examine conservation activity in western North Carolina, where state income tax credits from land conservation have been available since 1983. Six land trusts, including the Nature Conservancy, undertake conservations in both fee simple and in conservation easement over a twelve year period....

This study uses the hedonic-pricemethod to examine how environmental zoning and amenities are related to the price of single-family residential properties sold between 1999 and 2001 in Portland, Oregon. The impact of environmental zoning is found to vary with the type of environmental zoning and...

Does growth management result in lower marginal land consumption rates? The literature offers inconclusive and inconsistent results. This paper uses new data covering all U.S. metropolitan areas and multiple time periods to estimate panel models of effects of growth management on the spatial...

In this paper we estimate the external cost caused by odor from an animal waste processing facility in Flanders, using new odor measures based on field measurements. We compare four ways of incorporating odor nuisance: distance to the source, distance zones, continuous odor measures, and odor...

We outline the determinants of local public policies for farmland preservation and urban expansion. We first rely on the literature and on a purposely designed field study of municipalities in southern France to propose a theoretical framework better suited to the French situation. The model...

We investigate the effects of forest conservation requirements and zoning on the value of land undergoing subdivision. Land prices are increasing in the percentage of subdivision acreage developers are required to keep in forest, suggesting that forest conservation regulations increase the...

Comprehensive land-use planning is growing in popularity among U.S. state and local policymakers. This popularity is based on the belief that planning enhances community welfare; however, there is little empirical evidence in support of this belief based upon U.S. data. This paper uses unique...

While strict agricultural zoning policies, or greenbelts, are implemented to reduce urban sprawl, such policies may result in the leapfrog effect, which could cause sprawl to extend further. This paper outlines a theoretical explanation for the occurrence of the leapfrog effect due to...