Abstract
 Addressing the Challenges of Identifying, Defining and Mapping Natural Infrastructure Track: Ecology and Conservation Author(s): Jack Scholl, Andrew Schwartz The multiyear Natural Infrastructure (NI) Project seeks to enhance southwestern Pennsylvania's depressed economic vitality by leveraging the nine counties' natural resources. The NI Project used GIS to analyze and assess the full range of uses of the natural world including mineral reserves, water supply, habitat areas, landfills, agriculture and recreation. These GIS-based analyses provided a foundation for developing physical planning and economic development strategies. The NI Project's data, 95 percent of which was created through specialized GIS analyses, included more than 125 GIS layers and 800 data attributes, covering a land area of 4.3 million acres. Queries built on facts and scientific input were developed to generate new GIS layers from existing information. This derived GIS data allowed for detailed analyses and was used to identify, prioritize and resolve conflicts between NI uses. The resulting policy framework improves regional economic vitality by limiting the loss of resources and optimizing potential development areas. Jack Scholl Environmental Planning and Design, llc 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh , PA 15219 US Phone: 412-261-6000 Fax: 412-261-5999 E-mail: epd.pgh@worldnet.att.net Andrew Schwartz Environmental Planning and Design, llc 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh , PA 15219 US Phone: 412-261-6000 Fax: 412-261-5999 E-mail: epd.pgh@worldnet.att.net |
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