As external forces increase the demand for land conversion, communities are increasingly open to policies that encourage conservation of farm and forest lands. This interest in conservation notwithstanding, the consequences of land-use policy and the drivers of land conversions are often unclear. One of the first books to deal exclusively with the economics of rural-urban sprawl, Economics and Contemporary Land-Use Policy explores the causes and consequences of rapidly accelerating land conversions in urban-fringe areas, as well as implications for effective policy responses. This book emphasizes the critical role of both spatial and economic-ecological interactions in contemporary land use, and the importance of a practical, policy-oriented perspective. Chapters illustrate an interaction of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical approaches to land-use policy and highlight advances in policy-oriented economics associated with the conservation and development of urban-fringe land. Issues addressed include (1) the appropriate role of economics in land-use policy, (2) forecasting and management of land conversion, (3) interactions among land use, property values, and local taxes, and (4) relationships among rural amenities, rural character, and urban-fringe land-use policy. Economics and Contemporary Land-Use Policy is a timely and relevant contribution to the land-use policy debate and will prove an essential reference for policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels. It will also be of interest to students, academics, and anyone with an interest in the practical application of economics to land-use issues.

More than a tenth of the land mass of the UK comprises 'urban fringe': the countryside around towns that has been called 'planning's last frontier'. One of the key challenges facing spatial planners is the land-use management of this area, regarded by many as fit only for locating sewage works, essential service functions and other un-neighbourly uses. However, to others it is a dynamic area where a range of urban and rural uses collide. Planning on the Edge fills an important gap in the literature, examining in detail the challenges that planning faces in this no-man’s land. It presents both problems and solutions, and builds a vision for the urban fringe that is concerned with maximising its potential and with bridging the physical and cultural rift between town and country. Its findings are presented in three sections: the urban fringe and the principles underpinning its management sectoral challenges faced at the urban fringe (including commerce, energy, recreation, farming, and housing) managing the urban fringe more effectively in the future. Students, professionals and researchers alike will benefit from the book's structured approach, while the global and transferable nature of the principles and ideas underpinning the study will appeal to an international audience.

Numerous analyses have identified local land-use controls as the source of our continuing problems with residential segregation and environmental deterioration. Although recent efforts to resolve these problems have focused on policy-making in local government, the existing literature on land-use control provides little guidance for these efforts. In this context Situations and Strategies in American Land-use Planning meets a need. From case studies of regulatory processes in rural, rural-urban fringe, suburban and urban communities in Connecticut it develops an empirically grounded theory of land-use planning which has clear implications for reforming the local planning process. Thomas Rudel's book will be invaluable to all those involved in planning as well as being of interest to environmental and rural sociologists, geographers and political scientists concerned with local government.

"This book challenges the wisdom of over-designing landscapes, arguing that the fringe is an integral and inevitable part of the urban system and a product of largely organic processes. It investigates the way in which landscapes are made through urban containment, alongside the departure from a purely land-use planning model, and the future role of spatial planning at the edge. Planning on the Edge will be of interest not only to students of various disciplines, including geography and planning, and researchers, but also to policy makers and planning practitioners."--BOOK JACKET.