Under The Blade: The Conversion Of Agricultural Landscapes

by Olson,Richard K.

• ISBN13: 9780813335971
• ISBN10: 0813335973
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1998-12-25
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

"Under the Blade: The Conversion of Agricultural Landscapes" examines the patterns, causes, and consequences of current land use decisions in the United States, particularly the conversion of farmland to housing, roads, and other development. Changes in land use are the result of complex interactions among law, economics, landscape characteristics, social and political forces, ethics, and aesthetics. By examining farmland loss from each of these perspectives, and then integrating the results into policy recommendations, "Under the Blade" makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate on the optimal use of a finite resource--land.

Author Biography

Richard K. Olson is a researcher with the Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The editor of five other books addressing human impacts on envrionment, he is currently examining ways to relocalize agriculture and increase local food security. Thomas A. Lyson is a professor in the Department of Rural Sociology, Cornell University. He also serves as director of the Farming Alternatives Program at Cornell, and as editor of Rural Sociology.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface and Acknowledgments	p. xv
About the Contributors	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Farmland Loss in America	p. 15
References	p. 41
A Landscape Perspective on Farmland Conversion	p. 53
References	p. 90
The Law of the Land	p. 97
Endnotes	p. 134
The Economics of Farmland Conversion	p. 137
Endnotes	p. 172
Preserving Community Agriculture in a Global Economy	p. 181
Endnote	p. 212
Ethics and Aesthetics in the Loss of Farmland	p. 217
References	p. 244
A National Policy for Farmland Preservation	p. 247
References	p. 267
Case Studies	p. 269
Swanton, Vermont: Farmland Conservation in the Green Mountain State	p. 270
Tompkins County, New York Local Agriculture and Farmland Protection	p. 278
Southeastern Pennsylvania: Can Agriculture Be Sustained?	p. 287
Endnotes	p. 293
References	p. 294
County Planning and Suburban Expansion in the Washington, D.C. Region: Images for the Year 2020 -- What Have We Planned for Us?	p. 295
How to Get There	p. 302
Fauquier County, Virginia: Agriculture in the Shadow of Suburbia	p. 303
Endnote	p. 309
Albemarle County, Virginia: the Challenge of Turning Policy into Practice	p. 310
""""Here's My Mule: Where's My Forty Acres?"""" the Plight of Black Farmers and Farmland in Tillery, North Carolina	p. 321
Lake County, Florida: Citrus, Suburbs, and a Changing Way of Life	p. 328
the State of Ohio Farmland	p. 335
Dekalb County, Illinois: Land Use in the Urban Shadow	p. 340
Conclusions	p. 346
Understanding the Rules, Practices and Attitudes Regarding Land-Use in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, 1996	p. 347
References	p. 358
Protecting Minnesota's Farmland: Lessons from the Fields	p. 359
Lincoln, Nebraska, Public School Systems: the Advance Scouts for Urban Sprawl	p. 370
Antelope Commons: Building on the Border Between Urban and Rural	p. 373
Endnotes	p. 382
References	p. 383
Land Use Conflicts Between Poultry Production and Residential Development in Northwest Arkansas	p. 384
Conclusion	p. 389
Water Fights: Citizens Struggle to Shape a City in Central Texas	p. 390
Subdividing the Rockies: Ranchland Conversion in the New West	p. 398
References	p. 408
Western Washington State Urbanization, Agricultural Changes, and Farmland Protection	p. 410
References	p. 420
Saving Oregon's Farmland	p. 421
Fresno County, California	p. 430
The Oxnard Plain, Southern California: the Economics of Agriculture in the Urban Fringe	p. 437
Endnotes	p. 449
Forests Belong to Everyone: Public Use of Private Lands in Norway	p. 450
Index	p. 453
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