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Step
1: Identification of Planning problems and opportunities
Step
1 addresses the issues that concern the interrelationship between people
and nature.
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
"Sprawl eats up our open space. It creates traffic jams that boggle the mind and pollute the air. Sprawl can make one feel downright claustrophobic about our future."
How
do you define sprawl?
While there is no universally accepted definition, the Vermont Forum
on Sprawl concisely defines sprawl as "dispersed development outside of
compact urban and village centers along highways and in rural countryside."
Ten traits associated with sprawl
GENERAL
OVERVIEW of HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY
Hunterdon County is a relatively rural area that is traversed by one of the most rapidly growing corridors in New Jersey. The study area is within commuting distance to Newark, New York City, Trenton and Philadelphia. Its agricultural and blue collar industrial base is giving way to a white collar office and professional economy. Growing employment opportunities in Mercer, Somerset, Middlesex and Morris Counties in New Jersey are a reasonable commute from Hunterdon. The rate of population growth has been faster than nearly every other New Jersey county. The county has long been identified as a leading agricultural area in New Jersey and is fortunate to have numerous state, county and municipal owned lands set aside as open space.
The open space concept is a broad one encompassing rural ambiance, water resource protection, wildlife habitat, protection of historic structures and areas, regions of passive and active recreation
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Land use planning for sustainability requires consideration of a wide spectrum of factors including transportation, development density, energy efficiency, natural corridors and open space, and growth management. The following strategies are critical components of comprehensive planning to address the complex land use issues facing our communities.
Transit-Oriented
Design
Planning and design strategies for the development
of mixed-use, walkable communities centered around transit stops.
Mixed Land Use Strategies
Development strategies to promote the co-existence
of many community locales and services within a close proximity to reduce
automobile dependency.
Urban Growth Boundaries
A regulatory strategy for limiting urban
sprawl by creating a geographical boundary for new development over a period
of time.
In-Fill Development
A strategy to promote greater development
density and efficiency within existing urban boundaries.
Greenways
A strategy to preserve open spaces and natural
systems by connecting cities, suburbs, and rural areas through linear natural
corridors.
Brownfield Redevelopment
A strategy for returning idle and often contaminated
urban lands referred to as brownfields into productive use.
Transfer of Development
Rights
A method of exchanging development rights
among property developers to increase development density and protect open
space.
Open Space Protection
Ways to protect a community's urban open
space, farmland, wetlands, riparian lands, rangeland, forests and woodlands,
and coastal lands.
Urban Forestry
Planting and maintenance of trees within
a city or community as a strategy for reducing both carbon emissions and
energy expenditures for urban heating and cooling.
Land Trusts
Local, regional or statewide non-profit organizations
directly involved in protecting important land resources for public benefit.
Agricultural Land
Protection
Strategies for preserving the land that feeds
and clothes us, provides open space, food and habitat for diverse wildlife,
and maintains a link to our nation's agricultural heritage.
Solar Access Protection
A regulatory measure to provide legal protection
through solar access ordinances to property owners investing in solar energy
systems.
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| The
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 - Tel:(609)452-7007 - Fax:(609)452-0066 Technical contact: lpt@woodrow.org |