User:Hschaefle/sandbox

Community Development Article

 * Voice of the article is not homogeneous
 * Community development in Anglo countries over represented; global south mentioned but there are surely more instances of CD in the global south than the article portrays.
 * There is also more to CD in Anglo countries than shown in the article-- it is heavily skewed to development in the UK.
 * Much disagreement on Community Development as faith-based as far as including the section or not-- faith has held a place in CD historically and thus should be mentioned, though the changing of communities was due to majority rule and not necessarily due to popular beliefs. Ex: churches housing civil rights leaders when in danger, good location to organize/rendezvous, many leaders religious--motivation behind the causes they pursued, etc.
 * Several proposed merging of articles with related topics, though they are not that similar.
 * Not all of the types of CD are cited though they probably should be; the history section is also scantily cited.

Rural Community Development Article

 * Scant especially in the sense of rural community development work done in the Global South, centered on UK and a little less in the US
 * Basically mentions work done in ag. tech. improvement, electrification, and transportation.
 * In need of citations, nowhere near comprehensive or reliable.
 * Not much professional debate/input in the talk section--all from users in the class.
 * The community development article is much more filled out with professional discussion going on; more sources that are less biased, not much input on the history of rural community development and the techniques being used.

Draft
Land use suitability analysis is the process of determining the most appropriate use of an area in the context of city planning and planning for the surrounding area.

Before GIS was widely used in the mid to late 20th century, city planners communicated their suitability analysis ideas by laying transparencies in increasing darkness over maps of the present conditions. This technique's descendant is used in a GIS application called multicriteria decision analysis.

In order to feed a growing population that is pushing on the ability to extensively farm, suitability analysis is becoming more necessary to utilize the most productive land to its fullest potential, matching the needs of the plants more carefully to the existing assets in the environment. This technique is known as precision farming. (might be far enough away of an idea to be an original thought, needs refining)

Suitability analysis can also be used to track and label potential hazards, like earthquakes or contamination. It can also be used to locate advantageous locations for commercial centers.

Methods:

 * Gestalt method: The area is mapped and similar regions are identified. Additional maps are drawn for each homogeneous location representing each possible land use, which are compared and analyzed to ascertain the best possible land use. However, this method is not very commonly used because it requires intense knowledge of the place in question, usually only acquired when the planner has the opportunity to live in the space and dedicate an ample amount of time to it. It is also more difficult to communicate it effectively.
 * Ordinal combination method: The area is mapped according to qualities of the land, including slope, soil type, vegetation, climate, etc., and each quality has a rating associated with it corresponding to its value. Therefore, the land use is determined by the suitability rating given to it based on the comparable qualities of other areas. Some shortfalls include that the rating is subjective to the expert, and each rating must be done on the same scale to be comparable.
 * Linear combination method: The rated qualities of the ordinal combination method are compared with different weights with the most weight put on the most important value and the least weight put on the least important, though each rating is put on the same interval scale.
 * Values suitability analysis: Human values (like aesthetic preferences, etc.) are taken into account with similar weight to quantifiable costs and benefits in deciding land suitability. This is done frequently in deciding incorporation of open spaces and their management techniques.


 * AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process): A method that determines the weight of each component of the land making it favorable or unfavorable for each use. It has the capability to identify inconsistencies in judgement.

Compatible vs. Conflicting Land Use
When suitability analyses are done, several different usability options may be found for the same section of land. This can be advantageous or limiting. If the land is found suitable for two or more uses that can be combined, the land uses are found compatible. An example of this may be a building with businesses on the bottom floor with residences on upper floors. Compatible land uses result in a win-win development; a need for more commerce is met while meeting a need for more housing, while also keeping people on the street all day, thereby reducing the probability of crime. Conflicting land use occurs when a piece of land can be used only for one use or the other. This is exemplified by a piece of land that can either be used as agricultural land or developed into a housing tract--should the land be developed, it can no longer be used for agriculture. The suitability analysis comes back into play here by helping planners prioritize which need is greater (in the case of the example, is housing or agricultural land more necessary in light of economic or demand pressure).