Municipal regulation of residential landscapes across US cities: Patterns and implications for landscape sustainability

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

卷:275

Article

Larson, Kelli L.¹  Andrade, Riley¹  Nelson, Kristen C.^2,3  Wheeler, Megan M.⁴  Engebreston, Jesse M.⁵  Hall, Sharon J.⁴  Avolio, Meghan L.⁶  Groffman, Peter M.^7,8  Grove, Morgan⁹  Heffernan, James B.¹⁰  Hobbie, Sarah E.¹¹  Lerman, Susannah B.¹²  Locke, Dexter H.⁹  Neill, Christopher¹³  Chowdhury, Rinku Roy¹⁴  Trammell, Tara L. E.¹⁵ 

[1] Arizona State Univ, Sch Geog Sci & Urban Planning, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA

[2] Univ Minnesota, Dept Forest Resources, St Paul, MN 55108 USA

[3] Univ Minnesota, Dept Fisheries Wildlife & Conservat Biol, St Paul, MN 55108 USA

[4] Arizona State Univ, Sch Life Sci, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA

[5] Calif State Univ Chico, Dept Recreat Hospitality & Pk Management, Chico, CA 95929 USA

[6] Johns Hopkins Univ, Dept Earth & Planetary Sci, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA

[7] CUNY, Adv Sci Res Ctr, Grad Ctr, New York, NY 10031 USA

[8] Cary Inst Ecosyst Studies, Millbrook, NY 12545 USA

[9] USDA, Baltimore Field Stn, Forest Serv Northern Res Stn, Baltimore, MD 21228 USA

[10] Duke Univ, Nicholas Sch Environm, Durham, NC 27708 USA

[11] Univ Minnesota, Dept Ecol Evolut & Behav, St Paul, MN 55108 USA

[12] USDA, Forest Serv Northern Res Stn, Amherst, MA 01003 USA

[13] Woods Hole Res Ctr, Falmouth, MA 02540 USA

[14] Clark Univ, Grad Sch Geog, Worcester, MA 01610 USA

[15] Univ Delaware, Dept Plant & Soil Sci, Newark, DE 19716 USA

关键词: Landscape sustainability;    Ecosystem services;    Multi-objective;    Planning;    Urban ecology;    Residential yards and gardens;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111132

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Local regulations on residential landscapes (yards and gardens) can facilitate or constrain ecosystem services and disservices in cities. To our knowledge, no studies have undertaken a comprehensive look at how municipalities regulate residential landscapes to achieve particular goals and to control management practices. Across six U.S. cities, we analyzed 156 municipal ordinances to examine regional patterns in local landscape regulations and their implications for sustainability. Specifically, we conducted content analysis to capture regulations aimed at: 1) goals pertaining to conservation and environmental management, aesthetics and nuisance avoidance, and health and wellbeing, and 2) management actions including vegetation maintenance, water and waste management, food production, and chemical inputs. Our results reveal significant variation in local and regional regulations. While regulatory goals stress stormwater management and nuisance avoidance, relatively few municipalities explicitly regulate residential yards to maintain property values, mitigate heat, or avoid allergens. Meanwhile, biological conservation and water quality protection are common goals, yet regulations on yard management practices (e.g., non-native plants or chemical inputs) sometimes contradict these purposes. In addition, regulations emphasizing aesthetics and the maintenance of vegetation, mowing of grass and weeds, as well as the removal of dead wood, may inhibit wildlife-friendly yards. As a whole, landscaping ordinances largely ignore tradeoffs between interacting goals and outcomes, thereby limiting their potential to support landscape sustainability. Recommendations therefore include coordinated, multiobjective planning through partnerships among planners, developers, researchers, and non-government entities at multiple scales.

【 授权许可】

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