Land development patterns, environmental perceptions, and residential preferences in Southeast Michigan.
Gocmen, Zeynep Asligul
2006
Abstract
This study examines residential preferences, environmental perceptions, and the causes of a disconnect between pro-environmental attitudes and environmentally damaging residential preferences (for low-density, automobile-dependent, and predominantly residential neighborhoods) in Michigan's Washtenaw and Livingston Counties. A survey instrument was designed to explore residential preferences, relative importance of physical features shaping these preferences, perceptions regarding environmental impacts of residential development patterns, attitudes about environment and development, and the role environmental perceptions play in shaping residential preferences. Through spatial analysis, a neighborhood typology was created and used to select the sample and to compute objective spatial variables employed alongside survey responses. Two hundred eighty-three residents from urban, suburban, exurban, and conservation neighborhoods constituted the sample. The main findings of this research are: (1) Exurban neighborhoods were rated as the most desired type of neighborhoods by all but urban residents. (2) Nature view from home, followed by proximity to natural areas was the most important features for residents from all neighborhood types. (3) With the exception of urbanites, residents in general rated the exurban neighborhoods the best neighborhood type for the protection of habitats and air and water quality, suggesting that they may not understand the geographic scale of environmental impacts of land development. (4) Among the various environmental issues explored, residents appear to be the least clear about the relationship between water quality and land development. (5) Uncertainty about environmental merits of conservation neighborhoods was prevalent among residents of all neighborhoods, including, surprisingly, the residents of conservation neighborhoods. (6) In examining the preferences for suburban and exurban neighborhoods, environmental sensitivity perceptions of suburban and exurban neighborhoods were found to be significant predictors of stated preferences. In addition, a belief that urban neighborhoods are environmentally sensitive with regards to regional habitat provision was significant in decreasing the likelihood of exurban choices. As such, environmental perceptions of different neighborhood types appear to play a significant role for stated and revealed residential preferences. Major implications from these findings include the need for environmental education and for greening of urban areas, which could be influential in changing residential preferences and moving towards ecological sustainability.Subjects
Environmental Perceptions Land Development Michigan Patterns Residential Preferences Southeast
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