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Spatial and temporal residential density patterns from 1940 to 2000 in and around the Northern Forest of the Northeastern United States

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Abstract

Over the past 60 years, housing growth has outpaced population growth in the United States. Conservationists are concerned about the far-reaching environmental impacts of housing development, particularly in rural areas. We use clustering analysis to examine the pattern and distribution of housing development since 1940 in and around the Northern Forest, a heavily forested region with high amenity and recreation use in the Northeastern United States. We find that both proximity to urban areas and an abundance of natural amenities are associated with housing growth at the neighborhood level in this region. In the 1970s, counterurbanization led to higher rates of growth across rural areas. The Northern Forest now has extensive interface between forest vegetation and residential development, which has the potential to profoundly alter the ecological and social benefits of these forests.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge support for this research by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the Northeastern States Research Cooperative. References to software products are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or the U.S. Government, as to their suitability, content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO, 80521, USA

    Miranda H. Mockrin

  2. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Evanston, IL, 60201, USA

    Susan I. Stewart

  3. Department of Forest Ecology and Management, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Volker C. Radeloff

  4. Department of Sociology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Roger B. Hammer

  5. Carsey Institute and Department of Sociology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    Kenneth M. Johnson

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  1. Miranda H. Mockrin
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  2. Susan I. Stewart
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  4. Roger B. Hammer
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  5. Kenneth M. Johnson
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Correspondence to Miranda H. Mockrin.

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Mockrin, M.H., Stewart, S.I., Radeloff, V.C. et al. Spatial and temporal residential density patterns from 1940 to 2000 in and around the Northern Forest of the Northeastern United States. Popul Environ 34, 400–419 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-012-0165-5

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