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Home | Products & Publications | CITYgreen | Success Stories | Kansas City, MO

Environmentally-Conscious Development
Helene Miller, Urban Forester, Missouri Department of Conservation, Kansas City, MO

The Missouri Department of Conservation is developing and testing models that produce more efficient, environmentally-sound development, with the goal of reducing traffic and pollution associated with urban sprawl.


Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND)	Status Quo Development


Large Lot Development	Large Lot Development

In a recent project, the department compared two pairs of development styles. For urban lots, they compared a "traditional neighborhood development" (TND), to a "status quo" development (SQD). For rural lots, they compared a "conservation subdivision design" (CSD) to a typical "large lot" development (LL). All models assumed the same pre-development conditions and were 375 acres.

Urban Lots:

The TND model was a Kansas City neighborhood built in 1920, representative of pre-WWII era mixed-use developments with small yards, sidewalks, and gridded, interconnecting streets.

VS.

The SQD model was a based on a 1994 local development typical for the region. It had lower density, larger yards, wider streets, and less access to services within walking distance than the TND model.

Rural Lots:

The CSD model clusters buildings to dedicate more land to open space and preserving natural features critical to watershed functionality, such as stream tributaries and forest land.

VS.

The LL model is similar to the SQD model, but with less density and larger lots.

Large Lot Development — Existing Conditions, Kansas City, MO.

Traditional Neighborhood — Current trees, Kansas City, MO.

Subdivision with street trees — Grown 20 years, Kansas City, MO.

The comparison revealed that the traditional neighborhood (TND) and conservation development (CSD) models provided more opportunity for trees, resulting in greater on-site benefits. Common lands and open space were far greater in both models, with more space for tree planting and conservation, and, particularly in the conservation development model, for less forest fragmentation and greater protection of watershed functions. CITYgreen analysis confirmed that the more tree canopy was increased in the models, the greater the air quality and stormwater benefits achieved. Additional benefits not measured by CITYgreen included reduction in infrastructure and sewer hook-up costs associated with the clustering of residences in the traditional and conservation development models.

Working with area local governments, the Department of Conservation is using the CITYgreen findings to promote tree planting and preservation, create better tree ordinances, and encourage more environmentally-conscious development.

Read the complete proceedings paper online