Land development

Since their invention, heavy equipment such asbulldozershave been useful forearthmovingin land development.

Land developmentis the alteration oflandscapein any number of ways such as:

• Changinglandformsfrom anaturalor semi-natural state for a purpose such asagricultureorhousing
• Subdividingreal estateintolots,typically for the purpose of buildinghomes
• Real estate developmentor changing its purpose, for example by converting an unusedfactorycomplex into acondominium.

History

Land development has a history dating to Neolithic times around 8,000 BC. From the dawn of civilization, the process of land development has elaborated the progress of improvements on a piece of land based on codes and regulations, particularly housing complexes.

Economic aspects

In an economic context, land development is also sometimes advertised asland improvementorland amelioration.It refers toinvestmentmaking land more usable by humans. For accounting purposes it refers to any variety of projects that increase thevalue of the process.Most are depreciable, but some land improvements are not able to be depreciated because a useful life cannot be determined.Home buildingand containmentare two of the most common and the oldest types of development.

In anurbancontext, land development furthermore includes:

• Road construction
  • Access roads,walkways,andparking lots
  • Bridges
• Landscaping
  • Clearing,terracing,orland levelling
  • Land preparation (development) for gardens
• Setup offencesand, to a lesser degree,hedges
• Service connections tomunicipal servicesandpublic utilities
• Drainage,canal systems
• External lighting (street lampsetc.)

Alandowneror developer of a project of any size, will often want tomaximise profits,minimiserisk,and controlcash flow.This "profitable energy" means identifying and developing the best scheme for the local marketplace, whilst satisfying the local planning process.

Development analysisputs development prospects and the development process itself under the microscope, identifying where enhancements and improvements can be introduced. These improvements aim to align with best design practice, political sensitivities, and the inevitable social requirements of a project, with the overarching objective of increasingland valuesandprofit marginson behalf of the landowner or developer.

Development analysis can add significantly to the value of land and development, and as such is a crucial tool for landowners and developers. It is an essential step inKevin A. Lynch's 1960 bookThe Image of the City,and is considered to be essential to realizing the value potential of land.The landowner can share in additional planning gain (significant value uplift) via an awareness of the land's developmentpotential.This is done via a residual development appraisal or residual valuation. The residual appraisal calculates the sale value of the end product (the gross development value or GDV) and hypothetically deducts costs, including planning andconstructioncosts, finance costs and developer's profit. The "residue", or leftover proportion, represents the land value. Therefore, in maximising the GDV (that which one could build on the land), land value is concurrently enhanced.

Land value is highly sensitive tosupply and demand(for the end product), build costs, planning andaffordable housingcontributions, and so on. Understanding the intricacies of the development system and the effect of "value drivers" can result in massive differences in the landowner's sale value.

Conversion of landforms

Land development puts more emphasis on the expectedeconomic developmentas a result of the process; "land conversion" tries to focus on the general physical and biological aspects of theland use change."Land improvement" in the economic sense can often lead toland degradationfrom the ecological perspective. Land development and the change in land value does not usually take into account changes in the ecology of the developed area. While conversion of (rural) land with avegetationcarpet tobuilding landmay result in a rise ineconomic growthand risingland prices,theirreversibilityof lost flora and fauna because ofhabitat destruction,the loss ofecosystem servicesand resulting decline inenvironmental valueis only considereda prioriinenvironmental full-cost accounting.

Conversion to building land

Motorway construction in Ireland

Conversion to building land is as a rule associated withroad building,which in itself already bringstopsoilabrasion,soil compactionand modification of the soil's chemical composition throughsoil stabilization,creation ofimpervious surfacesand, subsequently, (polluted)surface runoffwater.

Building construction

Construction activity often effectively seals off a larger part of the soil fromrainfalland thenutrient cycle,so that the soil below buildings and roads is effectively "consumed" and madeinfertile.

With the notable exception of attempts atrooftop gardeningand hanging gardens ingreen buildings(possibly as constituents ofgreen urbanism),vegetative coverof higher plants is lost toconcreteandasphaltsurfaces, complementary interspersedgardenandparkareas notwithstanding.

Conversion to farmland

In Argentina and Bolivia, theChacothorn forest(A) is being felled at a rate considered among the highest in the world (B), to give way tosoybeancultivation (C).

New creation offarmland(or 'agricultural land conversion') will rely on the conversion and development of previousforests,savannasorgrassland.Recreation of farmland fromwasteland,desertsor previous impervious surfaces is considerably less frequent because of the degraded or missingfertile soilin the latter. Starting from forests, land is madearableby assarting orslash-and-burn. Agriculturaldevelopment furthermore includes:

• Hydrological measures (land levelling, drainage,irrigation,sometimeslandslideandflood control)
• Soil improvement(fertilization,establishment of a productive chemical balance).
• Road construction

Oil palmplantation and rainforest fragment on Borneo

Because the newly created farmland is more prone toerosionthan soil stabilized bytree roots,such a conversion may mean irreversible crossing of anecological threshold.

See also:Horton overland flow

The resultingdeforestationis also not easily compensated for byreforestationorafforestation.This is becauseplantationsof other trees as a means forwater conservationand protection against winderosion(shelterbelts), as a rule, lack thebiodiversityof the lost forest, especially when realized asmonocultures.Thesedeforestationconsequences may have lasting effects on the environment includingsoil stabilizationanderosion controlmeasures that may not be as effective in preservingtopsoilas the previous intactvegetation.

Restoration

Massive land conversion without proper consideration ofecologicalandgeologicalconsequences may lead to disastrousresults,such as:

• Generalsoil degradation
  • Catastrophicsoil salinationandsolonchakformation, e.g., inCentral Asia,as a consequence of irrigation by salinegroundwater
  • Desertification,soilerosionand ecological shifts due to drainage
  • Leachingof saline soils
• Habitat lossfor the wildlife.

While deleterious effects can be particularly visible when land is developed for industrial or mining usage, agro-industrial and settlement use can also have a massive and sometimes irreversibleimpacton the affected ecosystem.

Examples ofland restoration/land rehabilitationcounted as land development in the strict sense are still rare. However,renaturation,reforestation,stream restorationmay all contribute to ahealthier environmentand quality of life, especially in densely populated regions. The same is true for planned vegetation likeparksandgardens,but restoration plays a particular role, because it reverses previous conversions tobuiltand agricultural areas.

Environmental issues

The environmental impact ofland useand development is a substantial consideration for land development projects. On the local level an environmental impact report (EIR) may be necessary.In the United States, federally funded projects typically require preparation of anenvironmental impact statement(EIS). The concerns of private citizens orpolitical action committees(PACs)can influence the scope, or even cancel, a project based on concerns like the loss of an endangered species’ habitat.

In most cases, the land development project will be allowed to proceed if mitigation requirements are met.Mitigation bankingis the most prevalent example, and necessitates that the habitat will have to be replaced at a greater rate than it is removed. This increase in total area helps to establish the new ecosystem, though it will require time to reach maturity.

Further information:land recycling,soil conservation,soil salinity control,environmental remediation,andurban climate

Biodiversity impacts

The extent, and type of land use directly affectswildlifehabitatand thereby impacts local and globalbiodiversity.Human alteration of landscapes from natural vegetation (e.g.wilderness) to any other use can result inhabitat loss,degradation,andfragmentation,all of which can have devastating effects on biodiversity.Land conversion is the single greatest cause ofextinctionofterrestrial species.An example of land conversion being a chief cause of the critically endangered status of acarnivoreis the reduction in habitat for theAfrican wild dog,Lycaon pictus.

Deforestation is also the reason for loss of anatural habitat,with large numbers of trees being cut down for residential and commercial use.Urban growthhas become a problem for forests and agriculture, the expansion of structures prevents natural resources from producing in their environment.In order to prevent the loss of wildlife the forests must maintain a stable climate and the land must remain unaffected by development.Furthermore, forests can be sustained by different forest management techniques such as reforestation and preservation.Reforestationis a reactive approach designed to replant trees that were previously logged within the forest boundary in attempts to re-stabilize this ecosystem.Preservationon the other hand is a proactive idea that promotes the concept of leaving the forest as is, without using this area for its ecosystem goods and services.Both of these methods to mitigate deforestation are being used throughout the world.

TheU.S. Forest Servicepredicts that urban and developing terrain in the U.S. will expand by 41 percent in the year 2060.These conditions cause displacement for the wildlife and limited resources for the environment to maintain a sustainable balance.

See also

• Agricultural expansion– Growth of agricultural land in the 21st century
• Built-up area– Human settlement with high population density and infrastructure of built environmentPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Colonization– Establishment and development of settlements by people or animals
  • Manifest destiny– Cultural belief of 19th-century American expansionists
• Developed environments– Community of any size, in which people livePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Developmentalism– Economic theory
• Environmental impact statement– Assessment required under US environmental law
• Illegal construction– Type of construction work
• Infrastructure– Facilities and systems serving society
• Land consumption– expansion of built-up area that can be directly measured in a defined areaPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Land development bank– type of bank in IndiaPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Land grabbing– Large-scale acquisition of land (over 1,000 ha) whether by purchase, leases or other means.
• Land management– Process of managing land
• Land reclamation– Creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lakes
• Land recycling– Reuse of abandoned buildings or sites
• Landscape ecology– Science of relationships between ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems
• Land-use conflict– disagreement about what a particular area of land should be used forPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Leopold matrix– Environmental impact assessment method
• Mitigation banking– Wetland improvement to offset development
• Ocean development– Establishing of human activities at sea and use of the ocean
• Political action committee– American political organization
• Real estate development– Process that creates or renovates new or existing spaces
• Subdivision (land)– Divided piece of land
• Subsurface drainage– A system by which water is drained on
• Sustainable agriculture– Farming approach that balances environmental, economic and social factors in the long term
• Urban planning– Technical and political process concerned with the use of land and design of the urban environment
• Urban renewal– Land redevelopment in cities
• Watertable control– Use of drainage to control the groundwater level in an area

References

• R.J. Oosterbaan, International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement, Wageningen, The Netherlands."Improvement of waterlogged and saline soils."Free downloads of software and articles on land drainage.
• Kone, D. Linda (2006).Land Development(10th ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Association of Home Builders.ISBN9780867186093.
• Dewberry & Davis (2008).Land Development Handbook(3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.ISBN9780071640930.
• Colley, Barbara C. (2005).Practical Manual of Land Development(4th ed.). McGraw-Hill.ISBN0071448667.