Title: What if evaluation of growth management strategies for a declining region

Authors: Richard E. Klosterman, Loren Siebert, Jung-Wook Kim, Mohammed Ahmadul Hoque, Aziza Parveen

Addresses: Department of Geography and Planning, University of Akron, Akron OH 44325 5005, USA. ' Department of Geography and Planning, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 5005, USA. ' Department of Geography and Planning, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 5005, USA. ' Department of Geography and Planning, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 5005, USA. ' Department of Geography and Planning, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 5005, USA

Abstract: This paper describes What if?^TM, a commercially available GIS-based planning support system (PSS), and its application to evaluate alternate growth management strategies for a declining region in the Midwestern part of the USA. The paper begins by describing the study area, the seven-county region surrounding Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, which has simultaneously experienced regional population declines and substantial exurban growth over the last 30 years. It then describes the What if? PSS, and the data and procedures that were used to evaluate alternative growth management strategies for the region. The paper next considers the implications that the study results have for efforts to accommodate growth in the rural portions of the Cleveland-Akron metropolitan area. It concludes by evaluating the What if? model and its appropriateness for evaluating alternative growth management strategies in a declining region.

Keywords: planning support systems; urban planning; regional planning; environmental planning; growth management; geographic information systems; GIS; citizen participation; declining regions; environmental management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2006.008254

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2006 Vol.6 No.1/2, pp.79 - 95

Published online: 26 Nov 2005 *

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