Land Use Policy and Practice on Karst Terrains

Land use decisions in karst terrains can have immediate and serious impacts on the local landscape and groundwater resources. The existing literature on karst and land use can be very difficult to locate in the journals of any of a half-dozen different disciplines. This book brings the interdisciplinary knowledge together in one place, in a format that academics and professionals alike will find accessible, informative and useful.

Based on an examination of existing regulations, the experiences and opinions of planners and land use professionals, and quantitative analysis of publicly-available data, the book explores how human settlement patterns and urban systems in karst terrains are affected by land use regulations intended to protect karst resources. The book pays particular attention to the questions of whether these regulations will have a noticeable impact on density and on opportunities for economic growth and development in communities that choose to implement them. This analysis serves as the basis for a regulatory framework that may be used to understand the workings of land use regulations in karst terrains, and to aid in the development of such regulations in the future.

• Aquifers
• Karst
• Land use
• Planning
• Water Resources
• development
• landscape/regional and urban planning

From the reviews:

"Fleury, a science/technical writer degreed in environmental science and geography, addresses the problems of developing and implementing land use policies and regulations that reflect the unique problems associated with karstic terranes. The six-chapter work begins by briefly introducing basic karst concepts … . The book finishes with a glossary of terms … and color plates. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers interested in karst." (M. S. Field, Choice, Vol. 47 (1), September, 2009)

• University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, USA

  Spencer Fleury

Policies and ethics