by aiming to protect land/ watersheds etc. on parcels slated for immediate development; to protect land here and now, whereas a greenbelt approach typically aims to protect land from future development, and in a region beyond areas currently slated. It seeks to offer a gradient between urban regions and open countryside, beyond what a line on a map—typically a highway—currently provides. This approach seeks to avoid the dichotomy 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 named 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, productive farmland, ecosystem services, 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. 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 projected 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 storm water management systems, and landscape design.
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. Management 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.