Wesley E. Highfield

Does Planning Work?: Testing the Implementation of Local Environmental Planning in Florida

Abstract The lack of empirical studies measuring the efficacy of plans and degree of local plan implementation subsequent to adoption represents one of the greatest gaps in planning research. This article addresses the need to test the effectiveness of environmental planning and plan implementation by examining the spatial pattern of wetland development permits over a io-year period in Florida. Specifically, our study compares the original land use design of comprehensive plans with subsequent development activity. We identify significant clusters of permits granted for wetland development and evaluate those locations against the adopted future land use maps for all county and city jurisdictions across the state. Findings indicate that development patterns that significantly deviate from the original intent of the adopted plans tend to occur in specific locations and under certain conditions. In addition, plans containing specific environmental and plan implementation policies are correlated with a greater degree of plan implementation. Based on the results, we discuss policy implications for improving plan performance at the local level and establishing a stronger link between plan content and plan implementation.

The Rising Costs of Floods: Examining the Impact of Planning and Development Decisions on Property Damage in Florida

Abstract The rising economic cost of floods in the United States cannot be explained solely by monetary inflation or growth in coastal populations. Damaging flood events are also influenced by the way society plans for and physically develops its communities, influencing where structures and impervious surfaces are concentrated and how hydrological systems are altered. We analyze 383 nonhurricane flood events in Florida counties between 1997 and 2001 to isolate how planning decisions and their effects on the built environment affect property damage caused by floods. Our results suggest that alteration of naturally occurring wetlands significantly increases the property damage caused by floods, all else equal. Also, nonstructural methods such as the Federal Emergency Management Agencys Community Rating System, while providing inexpensive means of reducing property damage directly, may also indirectly encourage more development in hazardous areas.

Measuring the Adoption of Local Sprawl Reduction Planning Policies in Florida

While sprawling growth patterns have become a major issue for planners and environmental managers, little empirical research has been conducted on the adoption of sprawl-reduction policies in local plans. The authors systematically evaluate the comprehensive plans of fortysix local jurisdictions in southern Florida for the presence of five sprawl-reduction planning policies (SRPPs) using planevaluation techniques. Results indicate a clear statistical and spatial pattern of SRPPs across the study area and show that specific socioeconomic and demographic characteristics influence the adoption of SRPPs in comprehensive plans.

Identifying the impact of the built environment on flood damage in Texas

Floods continue to pose the greatest threat to the property and safety of human communities among all natural hazards in the United States. This study examines the relationship between the built environment and flood impacts in Texas, which consistently sustains the most damage from flooding of any other state in the country. Specifically, we calculate property damage resulting from 423 flood events between 1997 and 2001 at the county level. We identify the effect of several built environment measures, including wetland alteration, impervious surface, and dams on reported property damage while controlling for biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. Statistical results suggest that naturally occurring wetlands play a particularly important role in mitigating flood damage. These findings provide guidance to planners and flood managers on how to alleviate most effectively the costly impacts of foods at the community level.

Policy Learning for Flood Mitigation: A Longitudinal Assessment of the Community Rating System in Florida

Floods continue to inflict the most damage upon human communities among all natural hazards in the United States. Because localized flooding tends to be spatially repetitive over time, local decisionmakers often have an opportunity to learn from previous events and make proactive policy adjustments to reduce the adverse effects of a subsequent storm. Despite the importance of understanding the degree to which local jurisdictions learn from flood risks and under what circumstances, little if any empirical, longitudinal research has been conducted along these lines. This article addresses the research gap by examining the change in local flood mitigation policies in Florida from 1999 to 2005. We track 18 different mitigation activities organized into four series of activities under the Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) for every local jurisdiction in Florida participating in the FEMA program on a yearly time step. We then identify the major factors contributing to policy changes based on CRS scores over the seven-year study period. Using multivariate statistical models to analyze both natural and social science data, we isolate the effects of several variables categorized into the following groups: hydrologic conditions, flood disaster history, socioeconomic and human capital controls. Results indicate that local jurisdictions do in fact learn from histories of flood risk and this process is expedited under specific conditions.

Mapping social vulnerability to enhance housing and neighborhood resilience

Social factors influence the ability of coastal communities and their populations to anticipate, respond, resist, and recover from disasters. Galveston, TX, offers aunique opportunity to test the efficacy of social vulnerability mapping to identify inequalities in the ways that different parts of the community may react to a disaster. We describe spatial patterns of social vulnerability prior to 2008s Hurricane Ike and compare them to outcomes related to response, impact, recovery resources, and early stages of the rebuilding. Households and neighborhoods identified using vulnerability mapping experienced negative outcomes: later evacuation, a greater degree of damage sustained, fewer private and public resources for recovery, and slower and lower volumes of repair and rebuilding activity. Findings support using community vulnerability mapping as a tool for emergency management, hazard mitigation, and disaster recovery planning, helping communities to reduce losses and enhance response and recovery, thereby strengthening community resilience and reducing inequalities.

Planning at the Urban Fringe: An Examination of the Factors Influencing Nonconforming Development Patterns in Southern Florida

Although the components of plan quality are well defined, little empirical research has been conducted to understand the degree to which policies are being implemented after plan adoption and the factors contributing to the variation in plan implementation. The authors test the efficacy of land-use planning and plan implementation in Florida by measuring the degree to which wetland development over a ten-year period conforms to the original design of adopted comprehensive plans. First, they spatially identify concentrated areas of wetland alteration permits and compare these locations with the adopted future land-use maps for county and city jurisdictions in the southern portion of the state. Second, they examine the major factors influencing nonconforming development patterns across the study area. Results indicate a well-defined spatial pattern of nonconforming wetland development and isolate specific socioeconomic, demographic, and geographic variables impacting these deviations from the original spatial intent of local plans.

The contribution of mangrove expansion to salt marsh loss on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Landscape-level shifts in plant species distribution and abundance can fundamentally change the ecology of an ecosystem. Such shifts are occurring within mangrove-marsh ecotones, where over the last few decades, relatively mild winters have led to mangrove expansion into areas previously occupied by salt marsh plants. On the Texas (USA) coast of the western Gulf of Mexico, most cases of mangrove expansion have been documented within specific bays or watersheds. Based on this body of relatively small-scale work and broader global patterns of mangrove expansion, we hypothesized that there has been a recent regional-level displacement of salt marshes by mangroves. We classified Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper images using artificial neural networks to quantify black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) expansion and salt marsh (Spartina alterniflora and other grass and forb species) loss over 20 years across the entire Texas coast. Between 1990 and 2010, mangrove area grew by 16.1 km2, a 74% increase. Concurrently, salt marsh area decreased by 77.8 km2, a 24% net loss. Only 6% of that loss was attributable to mangrove expansion; most salt marsh was lost due to conversion to tidal flats or water, likely a result of relative sea level rise. Our research confirmed that mangroves are expanding and, in some instances, displacing salt marshes at certain locations. However, this shift is not widespread when analyzed at a larger, regional level. Rather, local, relative sea level rise was indirectly implicated as another important driver causing regional-level salt marsh loss. Climate change is expected to accelerate both sea level rise and mangrove expansion; these mechanisms are likely to interact synergistically and contribute to salt marsh loss.

Inequities in Long-Term Housing Recovery After Disasters

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Disaster impacts result from interactions between hazard exposure, physical vulnerability, and social vulnerability. We report empirical work from 1992′s Hurricane Andrew in Miami-Dade (FL) and 2008′s Hurricane Ike in Galveston (TX) to assess long-term trends in housing recovery. Longitudinal, parcel-level data on housing units along with neighborhood sociodemographic data permit analysis of the pace of recovery for different neighborhoods, populations, and housing types. Housing recovery is highly uneven for different population groups. Unsurprisingly, damage has major consequences; even after four years, the effects of damage are evident in the rebuilding process. Social vulnerability factors play differently in different settings. In Miami, income and race and ethnicity were critical determinants of higher losses and slower recovery rates, while in Galveston income was the more critical factor, with housing in lower-income areas suffering more damage and lagging significantly in the recovery process. Takeaway for practice: Effective land use policy and building codes can reduce physical vulnerability and ultimately damage, thus enhancing resilience for all. Differentials in impact and recovery trajectories suggest that assessment and the monitoring of recovery is critical to target resources to areas that are lagging. Perhaps most important is having an effective plan in place that addresses housing recovery issues to help reduce long-term consequences. Pre-event planning for housing and social change can help support community vision and overcome inequities.

Mitigation Planning Why Hazard Exposure, Structural Vulnerability, and Social Vulnerability Matter

Increasing interest in fostering resilient communities requires a more comprehensive approach to hazard mitigation planning that overcomes the limitations of traditional hazard assessments, notably the failure to explicitly incorporate an analysis of social vulnerability. We statistically analyzed a random sample of 1500 damage assessments of single-family homes collected following Hurricane Ike to assess the contributions of hazard exposure, structural vulnerability, and social vulnerability. The results indicate that hazard exposure, structural characteristics, and socioeconomic characteristics are significant predictors of structural damage. The implications suggest that comprehensive hazard assessments can provide additional insights for mitigation planning and community resiliency.