Services - Research
PZC engages in research to foster sound land use decisions. This research involves multiple stakeholders and research partners in different disciplines due to the multi-faceted nature of land use decision making at the community, regional and state level. PZC reports research findings to help local officials, legislators and citizens understand the consequences of past land use decisions and evaluate alternative approaches that communities and other stakeholders can take in order to become more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.
Current research in which PZC is involved with other MSU Land Policy Institute Associates, includes:
- Smart Growth Readiness Assessment. A priority project of PZC at MSU has been the development of a Smart Growth Readiness Assessment Tool for Michigan communities. Working jointly with LPI and the Citizen Planner Program, PZC at MSU has helped build a tool that will assist Michigan's local leaders in assessing their communities' development, planning, policies, and programs to determine how smart each is growing, and to provide a set of targeted self-help resources and Michigan case studies.
- Impact of Density on School Revenues, Costs, and Sustainability. Evaluating the relationship between housing type, property value, housing density, and the number of children in each Michigan school district, will indicate how school siting impacts development patterns.
- Options and Tools for Combining Local Government Services. Exploring the economies of scale and cost saving advantage of intergovernmental cooperation in the delivery of services to constituents across jurisdictions, the Options and Tools for Combining Local Government Services research will inform multi-jurisdictional planning. The lead on this research is Dr. Eric Scorsone; Extension Specialist, State and Local Government Program, with Melissa Gibson, of the Land Policy Institute.
- Impact of State Subsidies on Growth Patterns. Exploring the effects of state expenditures on city, suburb and rural areas will help policymakers better understand how public spending affects land use patterns.
Other current research includes
Florida Boating Access, Site Suitability and Economic Analysis Project
Planning & Zoning Center at MSU in partnering with the Urban Harbors Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, other MSU faculty and other Florida Universities is assisting the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in a statewide inventory of recreational boating access sites, an analysis of the economic impact of those boating access sites and a suitability analysis of sites to provide expanded or future boating access in saltwater, brackish and fresh waters.
This project should serve as a model for Great Lakes states and the nation in the inventory and analysis of working waterfronts and in-water areas that serve the recreational needs of citizens and visitors.
Project completion is expected in the summer of 2007.