Land-use planning: One geologist's viewpoint
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Abstract
Planning for the best use of land and its resources should take fully into consideration the long-term consequences of each type of use in order to stretch out most beneficially the well-being of society in the future, and to protect the integrity of the land and its biota. Three kinds of land-use can be distinguished for planning purposes. Reversible land-use leaves the land, after use, essentially as it was before; little or no man-induced modification remains. An example of reversible use in the United States is the designation of certain public lands as Wilderness. Terminal land-use commits the land to a chosen particular use, and any attempt at reversal requires either time-scales that are long compared with the expected lifespan of the social and political institution, or a commitment of resources that is too high for society to consider worth bearing. Examples of terminal land-use are location of metropolises and sites of toxic and/or radioactive waste disposals; by its nature the list grows monotonically. A current source of some social tension arises from the fact that Wilderness designation appears to assign a terminal-use status by legislative fiat, whereas in fact the land is being used reversibly.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Land-use planning: One geologist's viewpoint |
| Series title | Environmental Conservation |
| DOI | 10.1017/S0376892900012182 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 1983 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Description | 8 p. |
| First page | 97 |
| Last page | 104 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |