The McHarg Center's "The 2100 Project: An Atlas for the Green New Deal" provides a series of maps an infographics to illustrate the way the United States uses land.
Iman Gosh shares a set of maps recently published by the McHarg Center that puts U.S. land use in perspective.
"The '2100 Project: An Atlas for the Green New Deal' provides a snapshot of U.S. land use (as of 2017), aimed at managing resources to support this future," explains Gosh. Here's how the maps break down the country's land use by type:
- Forests (27%)
- Shrubland (24%)
- Agriculture (17%)
- Grasslands and Pasture (17%)
- Wetlands (5%)
- Other (3%)
- Urban Areas (2%)
A few of Gosh's takeaways from the map include the outsized influence of urban areas, the vast footprint of forests, and some specifics about where the country grows its food.
"The U.S. population is set to grow by 100 million more people over the coming decades, raising the pressure on limited U.S. land and natural resources. This pressure will be felt everywhere, from dense urban land to agricultural farmland," concludes Gosh, with a message about the future of land use.
FULL STORY: Mapped: The Anatomy of Land Use in America
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Orlando Pledges to Improve Walkability
A city report highlights successes and failures in building safer transportation infrastructure and reducing VMT in 2023.
New York Transit Agency Launches Performance Dashboard
The tool increases transparency about the agency’s performance on a variety of metrics.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.