Monica A. Haddad, associate professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Iowa State University, will present “Planning for Open Space: A Spatial Analysis of Subdivisions in Des Moines” at 2 p.m., Friday, April 6, in Hardin Hall 228. This seminar is jointly sponsored by the Faculty of Geography & GIScience, UNL School of Natural Resources and the UNL Landscape Architecture + Community and Regional Planning Programs, College of Architecture.
Abstract
Advocates of ecological planning support the implementation of conservation subdivisions on environmentally sensitive or significant land as a means of increasing continuous open space areas. Real conservation subdivisions are very rare in the state of Iowa; nonetheless, various design attempts have been made to incorporate open space in subdivisions across the state. This project will assess how environmentally sensitive and significant lands have been incorporated in the urbanization process in the City of Des Moines. Given that the city is almost totally built-up, the study area will be located in the southern part of Des Moines, where the city is still expanding and there is room for new development. This project will utilize and improve upon a GIS tool developed to evaluate open space in subdivisions. The tool will be used to analyze conservation subdivision planning in the study area, taking into account City ordinances, subdivision design, and existing environmental resources. The findings of this project will help guide urban conservation goals for the City, revealing how future subdivision development should be planned to minimize harm to environmental resources.
Biographical Sketch
Mônica A. Haddad is an associate professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Iowa State University (ISU), where she specializes in geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis applications for community and regional planning issues. She also works for ISU Extension as a GIS specialist, and is the director of the graduate ISU GIS Certificate. Haddad teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in GIS and spatial analysis, in methods related to planning, and in social justice and planning. Originally from Brazil, she alternates her research agenda between the American Midwest and her home country. She has published on the topics of bioeconomy and growth, quality of public education improvements, ways to minimize social inequality, and strategies to achieve greater economic development.
For more information, please contact James Merchant, jmerchant1@unl.edu.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/8wf