Identification and Measurement of Micro-Land use Influences

Extract

It is generally appreciated that characteristics and features such as mountains, forests, snow-fall, lakes, secondary road networks and major highway systems from population centers greatly influence the type of activities and uses which ultimately develop on lands in a particular region. It is not surprising for example, that up-state New York and central New England have developed into areas of year-round vacation and tourism, since the composite “bundles” of characteristics offered by these areas include many features appropriate and necessary for such use. These general characteristics could be termed “macro-land use influences”. Once these macro-land use influences have attracted a certain type land use, however, the next question is: What specific characteristics influence the use of a specific acre or parcel of land? What are the “micro-land use influences”? Intuition would cause one to conclude that a parcel of land in the proximity of such things as a ski-slope, lake, exceptionally scenic area, access road or perhaps a vacation home, would be under strong pressure to be used for a vacation home also. Such characteristics, of course, would not be sufficient to determine land use, but they could certainly influence its ultimate use.