Conservation Subdivisions

Typical Housing Subdivisions

Building houses in rural settings often takes up a lot of open space. Developers and residents tend to want to build a house on an area anywhere from 2-10 acres. If a new subdivision in the country had eight houses in it, each taking up ten acres, the subdivision would quickly gobble up space.

Some subdivisions have their own open areas, but often some part of the scenery or the ecology was sacrificed to create one of the houses. Maybe a grove of trees was cut down to make room for a house or yard. Those trees could have been saved and more open space preserved if the housing development had been a conservation subdivision.

What is a Conservation Subdivision?

A conservation subdivision is a housing development in a rural setting that has small housing lots that are close together, and common open space where the natural features of the land are maintained to the greatest extent possible. Basically this means that new houses are built on small pieces of land—maybe an acre or less—and that the unique natural features of the subdivision are preserved. For example, an eight house development would be clustered to one side of the development. The remaining space would be preserved as an open area, farmland, or as an environmentally and culturally sensitive area. This space would be permanently protected and held in common ownership.

Why Create a Conservation Subdivision?

Conservation subdivisions are an alternative "green" approach to the conventional lot-by-lot division of land in rural areas. The lot-by-lot divisions spread development evenly throughout a parcel of land with little regard to impacts on natural and cultural features of the area. Conservation subdivisions allow a developer to concentrate houses on the most buildable portion of the site, preserving natural drainage systems, open space, and ecologically sensitive areas. They also preserve open space like forests, fields, prairies, and agricultural lands. After all, if we're smart about the way we grow now, there will be more room for future generations to roam.

Thought Question

Are there any negative aspects to conservation subdivisions?

Web Link

The University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology has a draft proposal of a conservation subdivision. Skim through it to see the purpose of these subdivisions, and the way it protects open spaces.

Sources