Measure Development Summary: Population and Housing

Budde, Peter; Gross, John

In many landscapes, humans are the primary drivers of landscape change (Vitousek et al. 1997, Sala et al. 2000). Impacts on resources, both positive and negative, may originate directly from the behaviors of humans (e.g., poaching), or indirectly from the infrastructure used to support humans (e.g., roads, housing). Although the extent of impact is often difficult to measure directly, data on human population characteristics (e.g., population change, economic status, housing) can provide important information for evaluating the likely condition of lands adjacent to parks. These cultural, political, and socioeconomic factors all contribute to land use decisions (Naveh 1995, Nassauer 2005, With 2005) and are widely used indicators of landscape quality or threats to biodiversity (Nassauer 2005, Cincotta et al. 2000). Given that human land uses tend to expand over time (Wade et al. 2003), these data also provide a window into potential threats to park resources.

Measure Development Summary: Population and Housing

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