Building a Balance: Housing Affordability, Environmental Protection, and Smart Land Use Decisions is the title of a research project funded by the Community and Rural Development Institute at Cornell University. The goal of this project was to examine policies that focus on land use patterns and associated fiscal implications for local governments, as well as mechanisms for preserving open space and achieving goals related to environmental protection and housing affordability.

This goal was achieved by conducting a series of focus groups in communities throughout New York State in which development-related concerns were expressed by town supervisors, county planning commissioners, mayors, school district officials, developers, farmers, environmental advocates, housing affordability advocates, and others. The focus groups demonstrated that common ground exists among groups that are often perceived to be in conflict with each other.

Through the following four reports, the project has identified processes and tools to guide communities through development decisions in ways that facilitate open discussion without polarizing disputes among various interest groups.

To view the reports, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available free at this site.

What do New Yorkers Think of Growth and Development

In May of 2000 Cornell University sponsored a statewide poll of 901 randomly selected New Yorkers. The poll touched on a variety of general topics related to population growth and development. Some key results are highlighted here. Responses from counties experiencing different degrees of urbanization and growth were contrasted...

Click here for full printable report.

Click here for a longer version of this research report.

Some States' Selected Experiences

Regions that have implemented smart growth policies have had mixed results. While some states and municipalities have adopted policies that have been very successful, others have seen their growth policies result
in unforeseen problems. The following examples demonstrate impacts of policies directed toward preserving farmland and controlling growth...

Click here for full printable report.

The Issues Surrounding Development

Rates of population growth and housing development across the United States are creating pressures on communities to provide adequate infrastructure services for a growing population. Although the United States experienced a population increase of almost nine percent between 1990 and 1998, in New York State that figure was one percent. While population density in some areas of the state remains stable and in some areas is actually decreasing, other areas are facing increases in population density that result in rapid community changes with negative impacts associated with sprawl. These changes are forcing communities to think about planning issues in different ways...

Click here for full printable report.

Selected Land Use Tools for Preserving Agricultural Land and Open Space in New York

The following selected land use tools are currently employed in various communities in New York State...

Click here for full printable report.

These fact sheets were prepared as part of the Cornell University project, Building a Balance: Housing Affordability, Environmental Protection, and Smart Land Use Decisions.

Project members:

Joseph Laquatra, Department of Design and Environmental Analysis; Patricia Baron Pollak, Department of Policy Analysis and Management; Nelson Bills, Michael Hattery, and David Kay, Local Government Program in the Department of Applied Economics and Management.

This project was funded through a grant from the Community and Rural Development Institute at Cornell.