An approach to environmental impact assessment for local government

Steven P. French

ABSTRACT:

If they are to have any affect on the quality of the natural environment, local governmental officials must have a means of estimating quantitatively the environmental effects of proposed land development projects. The impact analysis approach described here provides information needed for the incremental land use decisions routinely made by local governments (e.g., subdivision review and zone changes). It is intended to complement land suitability analysis, currently in wide use. A test application of the methodology in Orange County, North Carolina, illustrates its usefulness.

Footnotes

Steven P. French, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina when this work was completed, recently accepted a faculty position in the City and Regional Planning Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, 93407. This research was supported by the Kenneth E. Grant Research Scholarship, awarded by SCSA in 1979–1980.
Copyright 1981 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

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