Exurban Change Program - Related Research

The following describes research and outreach projects and papers related to the Exurban Change Project:

Agricultural Adaptation at the Rural-Urban Interface: Can Communities Make a Difference? Jeff Sharp, Doug Jackson-Smith, Shoshanna Inwood, Lori Porreca, and Jill Clark

The central goal of this research is to identify how and under what conditions local communities are able to influence the trajectory of agricultural change and adaptation at the rural-urban interface. The primary objectives of the research are to 1) characterize the diverse trajectories of agricultural change in U.S. rural-urban interface counties; 2) collect and analyze detailed information in select communities about local responses to urbanization pressures and assess farmer adaptive strategies in relation to local policy and social conditions; and 3) test a multivariate model of county-level aggregate patterns of agricultural change based on information about social, demographic, economic, policy, and ecological conditions in a national sample of agriculturally-important rural-urban interface counties. The findings of this research will inform policy and development efforts aimed at improving agricultural opportunity and rural prosperity at the rural-urban interface.

Socially Responsibility Initiative Jeff Sharp

The SRI is a coordinated, interdisciplinary effort to encourage cutting-edge research on some of the most pressing food, agricultural and environmental issues facing Ohio and the world, from genetically modified foods and environmental quality to urban sprawl and the globalization of agriculture. We hope you join forces with us in our renewed commitment to social responsibility.

Human-environment Interactions and Amenity Driven Growth Elena Irwin

Many regions with high quality natural amenities have experienced accelerated population growth rates in recent decades.  This trend represents a fundamental transformation in the economic importance of natural resources in these once sparsely populated communities: rather than local production based on natural resource extraction, recent growth is associated with the consumption of high quality in situ natural amenities.  Given the growing importance of natural amenities in these fast growing regions, a critical issue is the interdependence between natural amenities and the regional population that simultaneously depends on and threatens the ecosystem and its natural amenity services.  This project considers these interactions in the context of Lake Erie and other large lake ecosystems and the implications for policies related to environmental protection and regional growth.  This project is supported through competitive grants from the National Science Foundation’s Biocomplexity Program and Ohio Sea Grant.

The Center is designed to match local farmland protection goals with needed resources. Through these local-state partnerships, the Center provides model farmland protection strategies for Ohio communities and other interested partners.

Ohio Survey of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Issues  Jeff Sharp

The Ohio Survey of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental issues is a biennial statewide mail survey that assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of Ohioans related to emerging -- and potentially contentious -- food, agricultural, and environmental issues. Topics explored with the survey have included Ohioans' views of agriculture's importance in Ohio; attitudes about the environment and land use; food safety concerns; attitudes and behaviors related to local and organic foods; attitudes about animal welfare; and concerns about large scale livestock development in the state.

Multilevel Modeling of Exurban Land Conversion in Ohio  Darla Munroe

Funded by a 2005 Award Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, the primary objective of the proposed project is to construct a parcel-level model of exurban land conversion around the three largest cities in Ohio: Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus over the time period 1988 - 2003. This research tests a series of hypotheses regarding the influence of both regional growth processes in the metropolitan area as a whole, and local factors on individual land use behavior using multilevel modeling techniques and parcel level data. These models are expected to contribute to the knowledge base of exurban land-use change processes; and to generate broader impacts by helping local communities understand the relative importance of regional versus local factors leading to land-use change.

The Impact of Large Livestock Facilities on Housing Values in Mercer, County Ohio Elena Irwin and Brian Roe

The costs and benefits of livestock operations for local communities is often a hotly debated issue among local residents, farmers, and public officials. While such operations have been demonstrated to create some positive impacts through jobs creation and increased tax revenues, animal facilities can also generate a range of negative externalities for proximate residences. Potential costs include odors, increased traffic, and increased water treatment costs that not only can affect rural residents’ quality of life, but also property values. We use a hedonic model of residential property values to study the effect of livestock operations on property values in five Ohio townships.

Survey Research on Homeowner Satisfaction and Mobility Decisions Elena Irwin

This research on homeowner satisfaction and mobility choices seeks to better understand the factors that influence homeowner satisfaction with their house, neighborhood, and public school district and how these factors influence household migration patterns and the evolution of urban form within a metropolitan area. 

This research on homeowner satisfaction and mobility choices seeks to better understand the factors that influence homeowner satisfaction with their house, neighborhood, and public school district and how these factors influence household migration patterns and the evolution of urban form within a metropolitan area. 

Retail Market Analysis Elena Irwin and Jill Clark

Retail market analysis seeks to answer questions about the relative supply and demand of retail goods within a local market area.  At a basic level, retail trade analysis can help a community to identify to what degree there are net outflows or inflows of retail consumption dollars.  By comparing actual retail dollars spent in a town or county to the potential retail dollars that could be spent in that town or county, this analysis can help communities to identify potential opportunities and voids in local retail markets.