Conservation development, also known as conservation design, is a controlled-growth land use development that adopts the principle for allowing limited

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

while protecting the area's

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all life, biotic and abiotic component, abiotic things occurring nature, naturally, meaning in this case not artificiality, artificial. The term is most often applied to Earth or some parts ...

al features in perpetuity, including preserving open space landscape and vista, protecting farmland or natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s for wildlife, and maintaining the character of rural communities. A conservation development is usually defined as a project that dedicates a minimum of 50 percent of the total development parcel as open space. The management and ownership of the land are often formed by the partnership between private land owners, land-use conservation organizations and

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. It is a growing trend in many parts of the country, particularly in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. In the Eastern United States, conservation design has been promoted by some state and local governments as a technique to help preserve water quality. This type of planning has become more relevant as " land conversion for housing development is a leading cause of

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and fragmentation". With a loss or fragmentation of a species' habitat, it results in the endangerment of a species and pushes them towards premature

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. Land conversion also contributes to the reduction of agriculturally productive land, already shrinking due to

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. Conservation development differs from other land protection approaches by aiming to protect land and environmental resources on parcels slated for immediate development—to protect land here and now. In contrast, a

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

approach typically aims to protect land from future development, and in a region beyond areas currently slated for development. It seeks to offer a gradient between

urban region An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In u ...

s and open countryside, beyond what a line on a map—typically a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

—currently provides. This approach seeks to avoid the

dichotomy A dichotomy () is a partition of a set, partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets). In other words, this couple of parts must be * jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the other, and * mutually exclusive: nothi ...

of economic urbanism on one side of such a street while on the other lies completely protected woodlands and farm fields, devoid of inclusion in that economy. Addressing the theoretical illusion that humanity walled off is better-off, conservation development recognizes that design of how we live is far more important than we allot credit; that instead of walling off a problem we need to face that problem and drastically lower our impact on the sites where we live, and indeed raise the performance of our communities toward a level where such walls are no longer considered first response requirements.

History

Conservation development was formulated in the early 1980s by a British-trained planner Randall Arendt. He pulled together several concepts from the 1960s. He combined the idea of cluster and open space design with Ian McHarg's "design with nature" philosophy.

Conservation development

Conservation development seeks to protect a variety of ecological resources and services such as

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, productive farmland,

ecosystem services Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from Ecosystem, ecosystems. The interconnected Biotic_material, living and Abiotic, non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean ...

, scenic landscapes and historic and cultural resources. This is achieved by identifying the ecologically sensitive and valuable areas. The protected lands can be under an easement to prevent development on it. Housing is then built around the protected areas. Density, lots sizes, types of housing and amount of protected area is dependent on the type of conservation development. While not a prevalent type of development, it's estimated that conservation development takes up between 2.5%-10% of the total US

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

. Conservation development is usually applied to rural, exurban or suburban residential subdivisions, though it does have a few urban applications (Doyle 4). While there are several types of conservation developments, they all have several features in common. All developments have conservation land set aside, either held by a conservation organization or protected by a conservation easement. These developments must have ongoing stewardship for the protected portion of the parcel. Secondly, the development finances the protected area. Third, each development begins by surveying the land's ecological features and resources. A decision can then be made about where to build and what areas need to be protected. Lastly, these developments also use a variety of design features to reduce some of the negative impacts inherent in development. Examples include low-impact stormwater management systems, and landscape design.

Types

Milder cites four principal conservation development techniques found in the United States. The first two he groups together as having a "conservation with development" philosophy. Conservation is the main goal with development as a means to that end. The latter two types fall under the "development with conservation" ethos. These two types of projects are done through private developers whose goal is to turn a profit at the end of the day, but in a "conservation-friendly matter". Table 1 provides an excellent summary of the different conservation development techniques.

Conservation buyer projects

In this situation, a

land trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

buys the property and places the ecologically important areas under a conservation easement. The land is then resold, including the easement, to a conservation buyer. The buyer cannot build on the easement but may do so on the remaining, unprotected portion. This technique usually results in a few houses being built on the piece of land, resulting in a low density development. According to a study undertaken by Milder & Clark, 98.4% of the total land receives protection, the highest amongst the four conservation development types.

Conservation and limited development projects

Conservation and limited development projects (CLDP) are a type of development often carried out by land trusts, and occasionally by conservation-minded developers or landowners. Real estate is developed for sale on an open market, and the profit is used to finance conservation of the nearby land. Milder & Clark found that 93.5% of the total land area is protected under this type of development. Recent studies done on the effectiveness of CLDPs in protecting, restoring and managing threatened resources reveal that it is significantly more effective at doing so, in comparison to conservation subdivisions and conventional development.

Conservation subdivisions

Conservation subdivisions are a type of development that "sets aside a major portion of the site as conservation land" and clusters housing on the remaining portion. The houses are built on lots smaller than usual, meaning the density of the development nears the maximum allowed by zoning. Unlike conservation and limited development projects, a homeowners' association manages the protected land. These associations may lack knowledge and have different goals regarding the lands' management, which may result in a less than ideally managed conservation. As a result of this and other factors, a study found that on average only 57.1% of the total land area is protected from development.

Conservation-oriented planned development projects

Conservation-oriented planned development projects are large-scale development projects found in suburban and exurban areas. The scale of the projects means large tracts of land can be protected. They typically have densities nearing the zoned maximum and feature of a mix of housing types and land uses. The resulting percentage of protected land is 71.3.

Conservation community

A conservation community (or conservation development) is a real estate and conservation hybrid model of land development, consisting of both protected areas and human settlements, with the primary goal of saving large parcels of land from ecological degradation. This land can be

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

ed land,

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

land,

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

land, or any other type of land that needs protecting from high-impact development. This model is contrasted from other protected area models by integrating human communities within nature, rather than relocating them outside, and as such falls under the IUCN's Category V protected area designation. The model represents an integral balance between people and nature and can sustain for-profit activity such as residential communities, private clubs, or small-scale industrial activity on conditions that ensure the continued protection or ecological restoration of an area. Conservation communities are models of sustainable community development, providing an alternative to conventional forms of development. They are adaptable to the needs of different regions and use small-scale residential development to fund conservation, eliminating the need to solely depend on funding from private donors or

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

s, though they are sometimes additionally subsidized by such investments. This land development model is important to goals of

, green infrastructure, local

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

, and responsible management of natural resources. Some of the tools used to create conservation communities are conservation covenants, ecoforestry covenants, and other forms of covenant registered to the title of the land. Covenants are a legal contract used to protect the integrity of the ecosystem, the ecological health of watersheds (which are damaged by increased development), maintain long-term access to natural resources and associated

value-added Value added is a term in economics for calculating the difference between market value of a product or service, and the sum value of its constituents. It is relatively expressed by the demand curve, supply-demand curve for specific units of sale. ...

opportunities, protect native plant and animal species, and mitigate climate change impacts. In an effort to avoid greenwashing and in order to increase accountability and public transparency, some conservation communities establish separate federally registered charities or 501(c)(3) non-profit land trusts, which own the land in fee and extend conservation easements to developers and private homeowners. This way, the incentive structure ensures real estate developers stay true to the mission of conservation, with the land trust vested with authority to investigate, report, and penalize infractions. Conservation communities are developed not only to minimize their ecological footprint but to improve the existing ecological system's performance. The planning stage for the residential community focuses around maintaining and enhancing the ecological integrity of the land. Therefore, the community sits on the least sensitive part of the land from an ecological point of view and is often built using low-impact infrastructure such as Nature-based Solutions for the civil engineering and LEED-targeted housing. To further reduce broader environmental impact, many conservation communities (whether in whole or in part) generate their own power, pump their own water, and grow food on-site.

The economy

In addition to residential use, conservation communities can supplement their funding through other eco-compatible uses such as sustainable resource extraction, value-added manufacturing opportunities, organic horticulture, live/work enterprises,

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

, recreational and ecological educational opportunities. Through these additional measures, long-term protection of the land is sustained by the economic value created through restrained, eco-conscious business. Additionally, conservation communities can create sustainable employment opportunities for those living in the communities as well as the surrounding region. Ecotourism promotes environmental protection and support for the well-being of local community members by bringing visitors into the conservation community for educational and recreational purposes.

Community

As a novel and intentional approach to human settlement, conservation communities can be designed to strengthen interconnectedness between community members as well as with the broader local community. Doug Makaroff, founder of Elkington Forest (recently renamed to Malahat Forest Estates) noted that "by building sustainable and relational communities, our lives are richer."Hard Times Can Increase Innovation and Collaboration
. Davis, Kim (December 13, 2008). ''Vancouver Sun'', Westcoast Homes.

Examples

Advantages

The biggest advantage of conservation development is that it can protect species and ecosystems, preventing further habitat fragmentation and loss. By surveying the land and identifying the primary conservation areas where ecosystems are most at risk, communities are created without huge disruption to the environment. Conservation development also provides for secondary conservation areas, which provide corridors for animals to hunt, mate and travel through. However, any development will have some impact on the land. But by studying it, there are ways in which this can be mitigated. A developer can have native vegetation planted. Wildlife friendly native species could be introduced, while invasive species are monitored and controlled.

Stormwater management Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltration (hydrology), infiltrate) and become groundwater, be ...

systems are also used to "promote natural flow patterns and infiltration", considered a very important factor in minimizing a development's impact. There are several benefits from an economic standpoint. Conservation development allows developers to make themselves distinct in a competitive housing market. A developer can use an environmentally oriented marketing strategy, highlighting the benefits of the development to possible buyer with a green thumb. A final advantage of conservation development is that homes in these developments tend appreciate faster than their conventional counterparts. Pejchar et al. and Arendt cite a number of economic benefits that accrue to municipalities through conservation development. They include fewer public costs on maintenance and infrastructure, protecting open space without losing tax revenues, and avoiding the loss of ecological services like landscape stabilization, flood control and clean water. A municipality also experiences a reduced demand for public green space since it has been provided free of charge by the development. Lastly, there are a few social and recreational advantages to conservation development. With the smaller lots that accompany these houses, homeowners are likely to move into public green space and engage with their neighbors. Community events such as picnics or parties are more common. The protected green space also provides excellent recreational activities, such as hiking, jogging, or simply observing nature. It's hopeful that with this experience, people can reconnect with nature and develop a land ethic.

Disadvantages

There are several drawbacks to conservation development. The first problem encountered is the perceived risk by both developers and homebuyers. In protecting sensitive areas, developers and homeowners see a risk in the possible elimination of desired sites to build homes. This might be a large enough risk to discourage developers. This could be a place for government intervention, which could provide tax breaks to developers building a development this way. Conservation subdivisions and conservation-oriented planned development projects have been "criticized for protecting land at too small a scale to provide meaningful conservation benefits, while simultaneously promoting "leapfrog" development". This pushes sprawl further from the city and contributes to a more fragmented rural area.

Implications

This type of planning has become more relevant as " land conversion for housing development is a leading cause of

and fragmentation". With a loss or fragmentation of a species' habitat, it results in the endangerment of a species and pushes them towards premature extinction. Without biodiversity, we lose the many benefits we derive from it, including economic and ecological services, genetic information, and recreational pleasure, just to name a few. Land conversion also contributes to the reduction of agriculturally productive land, already shrinking due to

References

Sources

* * *

External links

* - Massachusetts Audubon Society
"Growing Greener." Case Studies in Pennsylvania.
- Natural Lands Trust, Media, PA {{Real estate developments, state=autocollapse Environmental conservation Economy and the environment Urban design New Urbanism Sustainable urban planning Rural development Economic development