Technological Tools for Land Use Planning

CommunityViz®

2017
Authors: Nate Lotze and Andrew M. Loza
CommunityViz® software enables users to see what different land use and development scenarios would look like if they were to actually occur. It allows users to create hypothetical scenarios and assess the economic, environmental, social, and visual impacts of those scenarios. (Print version of CT guide)
Last Modified
Nov 14, 2017
Viewed
3613 times

Conducting a Resource Lands Assessment for Pennsylvania

2009
Authors: Paul T. Zeph
PowerPoint presentation on the Resource Lands Assessment (RLA) currently being developed for Pennsylvania with assistance from the US EPA. This presentation briefly reviews the RLA developed for the Chesapeake Bay, and the process being used to develop a similar, but different RLA for the whole state.
Last Modified
Aug 21, 2018
Viewed
5408 times

Global Positioning System (GPS)

2017
GPS enables users to easily record the location of natural and man-made features on the land. It allows users to identify where a photo or video is taken, revisit previously recorded features, and more. (Print version of CT guide)
Last Modified
Nov 14, 2017
Viewed
2836 times

Growth Management Plan for Milford Township

2004
The paper describes the GIS techniques and methods used to help develop and design a growth management plan for Milford Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It analyzes Milford Township's existing zoning and land use plan and discusses a future projection buildout scenario, following existing plans and regulations. Then alternative development scenarios, along with 3D visualizations, are developed and compared. The paper summarizes the pros and cons of all these development scenarios.
Last Modified
Feb 15, 2017
Viewed
5164 times

Implementing Connections: A Guide for Municipalities

2010
This report is designed to aid municipalities and developers in effectively financing mixed-use development. Included are an overview of the benefits and challenges to implementing mixed-use development, best practices in financing (including specific financing mechanisms), different organizational structures for financing, and strategies for achieving success. Case studies of successful mixed-use projects in the Delaware Valley region are presented, as well as funding sources that exist in the region.
Last Modified
Mar 11, 2019
Viewed
1316 times

Maryland's Green Infrastructure Assessment: A Comprehensive Strategy for Land Conservation and Restoration

2003
Authors: Ted Weber
Maryland's Green Infrastructure Assessment is a tool developed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to help identify and rank areas of greatest statewide ecological importance as well as those at greatest risk of loss to development. The methods developed are being applied at the multi-state, state, regional and local government levels to guide conservation efforts.
Last Modified
Oct 14, 2015
Viewed
5711 times

National Street Tree Benefit Calculator

Organizations/Sources: Casey Trees and Davey Tree Expert Co.
The Tree Benefit Calculator allows users to estimate the annual economic and environmental value of individual street trees using inputs of a tree’s location, species and size. It is intended to be simple and accessible and should be considered a starting point for understanding trees’ value in the community, rather than a scientific accounting of precise values. This tool is based on i-Tree’s street tree assessment tool called STREETS, which can be seen at itreetools.org. For more detailed information on urban and community forest assessments, visit the i-Tree website.
Last Modified
Jul 03, 2019
Viewed
9853 times

Planning for Agriculture (Calumet County, Wisconsin)

Organizations/Sources: Placeways.com
Decision makers and residents of Calumet County, Wisconsin used Community Viz for a pilot project aimed at providing local decision-makers with tools and training needed to identify “important farms and farmlands where protection efforts are desirable and help attain community goals and objectives.
Last Modified
Feb 28, 2011
Viewed
4175 times

Regional Growth Management and Regional Transportation Planning (Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, Central Pennsylvania)

2011
In an effort to update both its Regional Growth Management Plan and Regional Transportation Plan, the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission implemented scenario build-outs throughout its entire service region, which includes 103 municipalities in the counties of Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry.
Last Modified
Feb 14, 2011
Viewed
6191 times

ReVisionPA

Organizations/Sources: Central Pennsylvania Conservancy
The concept behind ReVisionPA is simple: The more that people experience the role natural resource assets play in their community, the more in-tune they will be with opportunities to protect and enhance them. Since the best education begins with experience, ReVisionPA focuses on three approaches to help citizens and leaders become more experienced and informed decision-makers — visioning services, workshops, and programs. ReVision's web page includes a resource library that provides details about the practices and projects currently being undertaken by ReVisionPA.
Last Modified
Sep 07, 2012
Viewed
4472 times

Using CommunityViz Build-out Extension

Organizations/Sources: ESRI
Short presentation on CommunityViz Build-out Analysis
Last Modified
Feb 14, 2011
Viewed
4151 times

Zonation

2017
A conservation planning framework and software. It produces a hierarchical prioritization of the landscape based on the occurrence levels of biodiversity features in sites (cells) by iteratively removing the least valuable remaining cell while accounting for connectivity and generalized complementarity. Outputs can be imported into GIS software to create maps or for further analysis.
Last Modified
Jul 31, 2017
Viewed
2570 times