‘Exurbanization’ of central Indiana brings emphasis on land-use issues

SPEA center reports provide citizens with objective information on urban policy debates

By Angie Antonopoulous

Critics of urban sprawl charge that exurban development removes land from agricultural production, harms environmentally sensitive areas, and increases traffic congestion and air pollution. Developers counter that they build what the market demands and desires.

“Central Indiana remains mostly rural, but large portions of the region are impacted by areas that are sparsely populated—with only one to five persons per acre. This type of land, called ‘low density exurban development,’ is too populated to be consider ed rural and is more sparsely populated than traditional suburban areas,” said John Ottensmann, professor and associate director for the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment and author of the report.

The center’s study found that seven counties in central Indiana had more than 28 percent of their land devoted to low-density exurban development in 2000. These counties included Monroe, Morgan, Hendricks, Delaware, Johnson, Hancock and Vigo.

Furthermore, from 1990-2000, Owen, Morgan, Lawrence and Delaware counties saw the greatest increases in such development, with the amount of low-density exurban development increasing by more than 7 percent in Owen County.

Marion and Hamilton counties, on the other hand, recognized a decline in the amounts of land in that category, as more development increased population densities in those areas.

Ottensmann said in looking at the 44-county central Indiana region, there is wide variation in the extent and expansion of exurban development. The greatest amount of exurban development is in the areas south and west of Indianapolis and in a corridor ext ending northeast toward Muncie. Counties to the northwest such as Boone and Tippecanoe saw relatively less of their land being converted into exurban areas.

“With continuing development in rural areas, the question is, how do you balance competing interests and determine the best use of the land for the short term and the long term? These changes should be a wake-up call to citizens and policymakers to come t o the table to determine how they want land to be used in the future,” said Ottensmann.

Ottensmann said that with increasing residential development in these formerly rural areas, communities will have to tackle many of the same issues as their urban counterparts, such as how to pay for new roads, sewers, schools and fire protection services . These communities also will need to determine how much land should be preserved.

To determine changes in urban settlement patterns, the center obtained census data from 1990 and 2000 and classified the census blocks into five density classes based on numbers of persons per acre. Blocks with less than one person per acre were considere d rural. Areas with one to five persons per acre were classified as low-density exurban. The remaining categories with blocks from five to 15 persons per acre to more than 30 persons per acre included development ranging from low-density suburban to high- density urban.

Researchers use population density as one indicator of sprawl. Critics of urban sprawl charge that exurban development removes land from agricultural production, harms environmentally sensitive areas, and increases traffic congestion and air pollution. De velopers counter that they build what the market demands and desires. This report and other efforts by the center are intended to provide objective information to inform these debates.

The Center for Urban Policy and the Environment is part of the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI.

http://www.urbancenter.iupui.edu