The Sustainability Imperative - Sustainable Design: The Science of Sustainability and Green Engineering - page 240

When land uses change (usually to become more urbanized), the environmen-
tal impacts may be direct or indirect. Examples of direct land-use effects include
eminent domain, which allows land to be taken with just compensation for the
public good. Easements are another direct form of land-use impacts, such as a
100-m right-of-way for a highway project that converts any existing land use
(e.g., farming, housing, or commercial enterprises) to a transportation use. Land-
use change may also come about indirectly, such as the secondary effects of a
project, which extend, in time and space, the influence of a project. For example,
a wastewater treatment plant and its connected sewer lines will create accessibility
that spawns suburban growth. 32 People living in very expensive homes may not
even realize that their building lots were once farmland or open space and that
had it not been for some expenditure of public funds and the use of public powers
such as eminent domain, there would be no subdivision.
Environmentalists are generally concerned about increased population den-
sities with the concomitant stresses on habitats, but housing advocates may be
concerned that once the land use has been changed, environmental and zon-
ing regulations may work against affordable housing. Even worse, environmental
protection can be used as an excuse for some elitist and exclusionary decisions.
In the name of environmental protection, whole classes of people are econom-
ically restricted from living in certain areas. This problem first appeared in the
United States in the 1960s and 1970s in a search for ways to preserve open spaces
and green areas. One measure was the minimum lot size. The idea was that
rather than having the public sector securing land through easements or outright
purchases (i.e., fee simple) to preserve open spaces, developers could either set
aside open areas or require large lots in order to have their subdivisions approved.
Thus, green areas would exist without the requisite costs and operation and
maintenance entailed in public parks and recreational areas. Such areas have nu-
merous environmental benefits, such as wetland protection, flood management,
and aesthetic appeal. However, minimum lot size translates into higher costs for
residences. The local rules for large lots that result in less affordable housing is
called exclusionary zoning . One value (open space and green areas) is pitted against
another (affordable housing). In some cases, it could be argued that preserving
open spaces is simply a tool for excluding people of lesser means or even people
of minority races. 33
Land-use plans must reflect the fact that most of us want to protect the quality
of our neighborhoods, but at the same time, designers and planners must take
great care that their ends (environmental protection) are not used as a rationale
for unjust means (unfair development practices). Like zoning ordinances and
subdivision regulations, environmental laws and policies should not be used as
a means to keep lower socioeconomic groups out of privileged neighborhoods.
Thus, fairness must be an integral component of green design.