In the Mojave Desert, military bases could become islands of habitat in a sea of urban sprawl. Now researchers are using GIS and other tools to study the options.
In 1995, a consortium of university and government researchers completed a regionwide landscape study for the military in southern California. The Camp Pendleton Alternative Futures study looked not only at this particular Marine base, but also at the five major watersheds that flow through the base before reaching the Pacific Ocean. The study used computer simulations to illustrate what could happen in the region under different assumptions about population and the location of urban growth.Matt Stevenson is the GIS specialist for the Mojave Desert Alternative Futures Project at Utah State University. Natalie Robins is a landscape architect with Olson+Olson Planning and Design in Calgary, Alberta.This article summary is provided as a service to the urban planning community. However, this article is not available online. For subscription and ordering information, visit Planning Magazine at: http://www.planning.org/pubs/planning.html
Thanks to Laura Krafft
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