Conservation-Based Development

The concept of smart development covers many different issues:

• from the environmentally sound use of rural lands,
• to the protection of natural, ecological, and agricultural resources,
• to the maintenance of small town and village integrity,
• to the assessment of urban sprawl consequences.

But, regional development activities done in isolation or segregated from one another, not thinking equally about natural resource conservation, economic security, and social well-being for all, which result in sprawl across the rural landscape, cause a number of major problems including:

• destroying the economic and environmental value of resource lands;
• creating an inefficient land-use pattern that is very expensive to serve;
• threatening economic viability by diffusing public infrastructure investments;
• destroying the intrinsic visual and functional character of the rural landscape; and
• eroding a sense of community.

Five E's also employs the "smart" progress strategy of Conservation-Based Development, that can effectively deal with and anticipate impacts of Urban Constellation sprawl on adjacent rural districts. Our focus in using this strategy is to integrate the valuable natural assets of a region with related economic and other development objectives toward sound, "win-win" scenarios of community improvement. This strategy of conservation-based development for "gateway communities" was originally developed by Randall Arendt (Rhode Island). Its purpose is to integrate the valuable natural assets of a region with related economic and other development objectives toward sound, "win-win" scenarios of community improvement.

For example, a region may be contemplating development of a 500 acre plot into 100 residential homes. Traditional planning would design an approach that provided 5 acre lots for these residential units, while considering all the added infrastructure to service this developed area. Conservation-based development, on the other hand, would take an environmentally "smart" approach to design of the same plot and match critical natural landscape assets with the planning of residential units and required infrastructure.

The result would be that the same 100 housing units could still be developed in the same total land area, but these units would be clustered on much less property while protecting valuable natural landscape resources, avoiding land less desirable for building, and maintaining significant open space for use by the entire residential community. Likewise the assets of the landscape would be considered to produce the most cost-effective and environmentally-sound provision of community services, such as wastewater treatment and water supply, etc.

Because of its interdisciplinary and integrated focus, the work of Five E's collectively benefits clients in designing and implementing "smart" rural development actions related to environmental integrity, economic security, social well-being, and cultural uniqueness.

We Will Help You To:

• make thoughtful choices about where new development should/should not go, to improve water quality and natural habitat protection;
• understand how good environments (open space preservation; coastal bay ecosystem health; forested and agricultural land protection, etc.) will in-turn support healthy economies (value-added agriculture; eco-tourism; enhanced commercial fisheries, etc.);
• formulate rational strategies for using already developed land and resources more efficiently to enhance community revitalization;
• link land-use development with conservation and protection of economically valuable watersheds;
• develop rural, sustainable communities through grassroots empowerment and enhancement of social and cultural assets;
• set up regulatory mechanisms that are fair, clear, consistent, and far-sighted; and
• offer a better quality of life in an equitable way for all citizens of the region.

Experience of Five E's Unlimited in Conservation-Based Development includes the following activities.

• Developed local/regional government comprehensive plans to identify major economic, social, environmental, and cultural concerns of a locality and actions they could implement.
• Employed sustainable landscape design protocol using GIS landscape assessment to assist rural communities in developing adaptive land-use practices.
• Conducted conflict resolution processes to develop consensual use of land resources among competing stakeholders.
• Guided urban growth boundary development to maintain integrity of natural resources and open space.
• Evaluated recycling opportunities for rural regions.
• Assessed effects from regional economic and environmental policies on the social vitality of communities.
• Recommended sustainable agricultural and best management practices that would mediate environmental impacts and also allow family farms to stay economically viable while providing good jobs.
• Evaluated how diversification of farming operation through "small niche" framing opportunities (agriculture & aquaculture) and value-added crop production processes can lead to economic stability and increased productivity.
• Designed an integrated rural development model for transforming regional economies to increase family-wage jobs and to establish rural security and environmental integrity.
• Researched best means for implementing subscription farming and community-supported agriculture by encouraging local consumerism.
• Assessed water resources supply and conservation schemes.
• Evaluated wastewater management and reuse alternatives.
• Promoted integrated natural resource conservation, stewardship in watershed environmental protection, sustainable agriculture, and other land-uses.