Professor, Dept. of Environmental Resources Engineering, SUNY ESF

High urban land consumption linked to lower African American population, higher poverty rate and lower income per capita

Study used satellite data to look at developed land consumption across the continental US. Distinct geographic patterns were identified in terms of developed land consumption per capita. Of particular interest is the that high developed land consumption counties have statistically lower Black/African American population, higher poverty rate and lower income per capita than average.

Further information: G. Grekousis, G. Mountrakis (2015). Sustainable development under population pressure: Lessons from Developed Land Consumption in the Conterminous U.S. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0119675. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119675. [pdf and more].