Cleveland State University || Retail Report: Riparian Systems

Retail Report

Land use planning and development in urban areas is often quite detached from any conscious concern about environmental sustainability or ecosystem health. Planners, builders, and developers adding to the built environment follow rules and regulations that have been mandated and have the force of law behind them, but may not give any further thought to the effects such development may have on the surrounding environment. Similarly, people living and working in urban areas take the goods and services they need from the natural realm in the form of food, water, clean air, and materials, but they may not be fully aware of the dynamic ecosystems in which these goods were formed. In general, the disconnect that has developed between urban cultures and the ecosystems they are part of has created patterns of planning and development that undermine the very systems that sustain the diversity of life on earth.

The following discussion aims to illuminate many of the services ecosystems provide, particularly the services watersheds provide, and the impact retail development has on these services. The first section includes a discussion of the quantification of ecosystem services so that government entities can analyze these services in terms of costs and benefits, as well as an analysis of ways in which planning for the sustainability of watershed ecosystems and related services can be accomplished. The second section provides an overview of Northeast Ohio ’s regional watershed and retail trends. To understand the impact of retail developments on watersheds, this section provides relevant definitions, reviews nonpoint pollution, and offers the practice of sustainable development as a method of mitigating the impact of retail development on watersheds. The third section reviews some of the major environmental laws addressing the need to improve the condition of our waters. This section also examines the power of the law to mitigate watershed degradation in a sustainable manner while. The fourth section examines the greatest challenge to environmental sustainability in the Northeast Ohio region, its own economy. The fifth section provides an overview of stormwater best practices from across the country. Case studies of both old, recent, and proposed retail development in Northeast Ohio are presented in the sixth section. Conclusions are discussed in the final section.



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Built Environment Municipal Finance Economic Development Transportation Riparian Systems Mailing Address Cleveland State University Maxine Goodman College of Urban Affairs 2121 Euclid Avenue Building, UR 335 Cleveland, OH 44115-2214 Campus Location Urban Building, Room 335 1717 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, Ohio 44115-2214 Phone: 216.387.2135 wendy@urban.csuohio.edu Web Content Contact ustweb@csuohio.edu		Retail Report Riparian Systems (1.54 mb) Land use planning and development in urban areas is often quite detached from any conscious concern about environmental sustainability or ecosystem health. Planners, builders, and developers adding to the built environment follow rules and regulations that have been mandated and have the force of law behind them, but may not give any further thought to the effects such development may have on the surrounding environment. Similarly, people living and working in urban areas take the goods and services they need from the natural realm in the form of food, water, clean air, and materials, but they may not be fully aware of the dynamic ecosystems in which these goods were formed. In general, the disconnect that has developed between urban cultures and the ecosystems they are part of has created patterns of planning and development that undermine the very systems that sustain the diversity of life on earth. The following discussion aims to illuminate many of the services ecosystems provide, particularly the services watersheds provide, and the impact retail development has on these services. The first section includes a discussion of the quantification of ecosystem services so that government entities can analyze these services in terms of costs and benefits, as well as an analysis of ways in which planning for the sustainability of watershed ecosystems and related services can be accomplished. The second section provides an overview of Northeast Ohio ’s regional watershed and retail trends. To understand the impact of retail developments on watersheds, this section provides relevant definitions, reviews nonpoint pollution, and offers the practice of sustainable development as a method of mitigating the impact of retail development on watersheds. The third section reviews some of the major environmental laws addressing the need to improve the condition of our waters. This section also examines the power of the law to mitigate watershed degradation in a sustainable manner while. The fourth section examines the greatest challenge to environmental sustainability in the Northeast Ohio region, its own economy. The fifth section provides an overview of stormwater best practices from across the country. Case studies of both old, recent, and proposed retail development in Northeast Ohio are presented in the sixth section. Conclusions are discussed in the final section.
This page last modified 05.07.2007