Municipal regulation of residential landscapes across US cities: Patterns and implications for landscape sustainability

Kelli L. Larson, Riley Andrade, Kristen C. Nelson, Megan M. Wheeler, Jesse M. Engebreston, Sharon J. Hall, Meghan L. Avolio, Peter M. Groffman, Morgan Grove, James B. Heffernan, Sarah E. Hobbie, Susannah B. Lerman, Dexter H. Locke, Christopher Neill, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Tara L.E. Trammell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

41 Scopus citations

Abstract

Local regulations on residential landscapes (yards and gardens) can facilitate or constrain ecosystem services and disservices in cities. To our knowledge, no studies have undertaken a comprehensive look at how municipalities regulate residential landscapes to achieve particular goals and to control management practices. Across six U.S. cities, we analyzed 156 municipal ordinances to examine regional patterns in local landscape regulations and their implications for sustainability. Specifically, we conducted content analysis to capture regulations aimed at: 1) goals pertaining to conservation and environmental management, aesthetics and nuisance avoidance, and health and wellbeing, and 2) management actions including vegetation maintenance, water and waste management, food production, and chemical inputs. Our results reveal significant variation in local and regional regulations. While regulatory goals stress stormwater management and nuisance avoidance, relatively few municipalities explicitly regulate residential yards to maintain property values, mitigate heat, or avoid allergens. Meanwhile, biological conservation and water quality protection are common goals, yet regulations on yard management practices (e.g., non-native plants or chemical inputs) sometimes contradict these purposes. In addition, regulations emphasizing aesthetics and the maintenance of vegetation, mowing of grass and weeds, as well as the removal of dead wood, may inhibit wildlife-friendly yards. As a whole, landscaping ordinances largely ignore tradeoffs between interacting goals and outcomes, thereby limiting their potential to support landscape sustainability. Recommendations therefore include coordinated, multiobjective planning through partnerships among planners, developers, researchers, and non-government entities at multiple scales.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number111132
JournalJournal of Environmental Management
Volume275
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology program [MSB FRA 1638725, 1638648, 1638519], and National Institute of Food and Agriculture McIntire-Stennis [1000343 MIN-42-069]. We thank Ashlee Tziganuk for her help with collecting and coding the ordinance documents for this research. Thanks also to Christopher Thoms for input on the sampling design and analytical codes examined in this study.

Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Macrosystems Biology program [ MSB FRA 1638725 , 1638648 , 1638519 ], and National Institute of Food and Agriculture McIntire-Stennis [ 1000343 MIN-42-069 ]. We thank Ashlee Tziganuk for her help with collecting and coding the ordinance documents for this research. Thanks also to Christopher Thoms for input on the sampling design and analytical codes examined in this study.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd

Keywords

  • Ecosystem services
  • Landscape sustainability
  • Multi-objective
  • Planning
  • Residential yards and gardens
  • Urban ecology

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