CONSERVATION SUBIVISION DESIGN: USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO MEASURE WHETHER IT LIVES UP TO ITS PROMISE
Eric J. Ryer
The majority of new home construction in suburban areas is in the form of what is known as conventional development. In this form, all lawfully developable land is converted to streets and houselots of basically equal size and dimensions. Conservation subdivision design (CSD) is an attempt to alter this pattern by means of clustering homes close together on smaller lots in order to preserve substantial amounts of open spaces in the form of significant natural, cultural, and historic/archeological features.
The research will establish a framework of objectives and a methodology utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) that will allow researchers to evaluate the final results of conservation design developments. Doing so will help determine if the design follows the goals and principles of conservation design as outlined in formal literature. The major goal is to determine whether the application of CSD results in the preservation of high percentages of open space. The thesis also examines and measures primary and secondary conservation areas to increase the accuracy of such an evaluation.
This study applies the established framework and methodology to six conservation design developments in Waukesha County, west of the metro-Milwaukee area in southeastern Wisconsin. The developments were designed by Siepmann Realty. The results of this evaluation speak to the quality of conservation developments that are being designed and built by Siepmann Realty (and others of comparable design) and demonstrate how to apply the framework and methodology to measure the success of conservation development designs.