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An Analysis of the Public Discourse About Urban Sprawl in the United States: Monitoring Concern About a Major Threat to Forests

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An Analysis of the Public Discourse About Urban Sprawl in the United States: Monitoring Concern About a Major Threat to Forests Forest Policy and Economics 7 (2005) 745–756 www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol An analysis of the public discourse about urban sprawl in the United States: Monitoring concern about a major threat to forests David N. Bengstona,T, Robert S. Pottsb, David P. Fanc, Edward G. Goetzd aUSDA Forest Service, North Central Research Station, 1992 Folwell Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, United States bUSDA Forest Service, North Central Research Station, Rhinelander Forestry Sciences Lab, 5985 Highway K, Rhinelander, WI 54501, United States cDepartment of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, Biological Sciences Center, Room 250, 1445 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, United States dUrban and Regional Planning Program, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301-19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States Abstract Urban sprawl has been identified as a serious threat to forests and other natural areas in the United States, and public concern about the impacts of sprawling development patterns has grown in recent years. The prominence of public concern about sprawl is germane to planners, managers, and policymakers involved in efforts to protect interface forests from urban encroachment because the level of concern will influence the acceptance of policies and programs aimed at protecting forests. A new indicator of public concern about urban sprawl is presented, based on computer content analysis of public discussion contained in the news media from 1995–2001. More than 36,000 news stories about sprawl were analyzed for expressions of concern. Overall concern about sprawl grew rapidly during the latter half of the 1990s. The environmental impacts of sprawl were the most salient concern overall, and concern about loss of open space and traffic problems has increased since 1995 as a share of all sprawl concerns. The method described in this paper provides a new approach for planners and policymakers to monitor change in public attitudes about a wide range of social issues over time. Published by Elsevier B.V. Keywords: Urban sprawl; Public discourse; Computer content analysis; News media 1. Introduction residential and nonresidential development that con- verts and consumes relatively large amounts of Urban sprawl may be characterized as relatively farmland and natural areas (Burchell et al., 1998). low-density, noncontiguous, automobile dependent, Concern about sprawl is not new—archaeological evidence suggests that cities of the ancient Mayans T Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 651 649 5162; fax: +1 651 649 may have suffered from sprawl (Chase and Chase, 5285. 1994). However, the intensity and nature of concern E-mail address: [email protected] (D.N. Bengston). about sprawl has evolved over time. In fact, sprawl is 1389-9341/$ - see front matter. Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2005.03.010 746 D.N. Bengston et al. / Forest Policy and Economics 7 (2005) 745–756 now considered a bbread and butterQ policy issue, approved 72% of the 240 state and local ballot similar in importance to crime, education, and the measures related to growth management in 1998, economy (Pew Center for Civic Journalism, 2000). among the highest rates of approval for capital Urban sprawl has been linked to an array of measures put before voters. On Election Day 2000, economic and social costs, including higher costs for there were 553 state and local referenda on growth provision of public infrastructure such as roads and management and related issues, and once again about utilities, more vehicle miles traveled and less cost- 72% passed (Myers and Puentes, 2001). efficient transit, and a variety of negative quality of Finally, growing interest in bsmart growthQ and life and social impacts (Burchell et al., 1998). Addi- other approaches to growth management in the United tionally, the environmental costs of sprawl are States (Chen, 2000; Weitz, 1999), the rising number becoming increasingly clear. Forest Service Chief of local, regional, and national land trusts, and Dale Bosworth (2003) has identified sprawling, land- increases in the acreage conserved in land trusts consumptive development patterns as one of the four (Land Trust Alliance, 2001) also signal a shift in main threats to public and private forests in the United attitudes toward sprawl. States. Of particular concern to forestry and other The prominence of concern about sprawl is natural resource professionals, sprawl has been germane to planners, managers, and policymakers identified as the most significant factor affecting involved in efforts to protect urban, rural, and inter- forest ecosystems in the southern United States (Wear face forests and other natural resources from urban and Greis, 2002). In North Carolina, for example, encroachment. The level of public concern will forest cover has declined by more than 1.0 million influence the social and political acceptance of acres (about 5%) since 1990, with urban development policies and programs aimed at protecting forests, as the predominant cause of the net loss (Brown, including state forest protection programs (Williams et 2004). Further, sprawling development has been al., 2004) and the United States Department of implicated as the leading cause of habitat loss and Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Forest Legacy species endangerment in the mainland United States Program (USDA Forest Service, 2002). In the absence (Czech et al., 2000). of data that highlight specific concerns about sprawl, Public concern about the social and environmental planners will be hard pressed to develop politically impacts of sprawl has grown in recent years, as shown acceptable management plans, and policymakers are by a variety of indicators including surveys and polls, unlikely to take action without an understanding of referenda and ballot measures, and the increase of regional and demographic differences in concern, and both public and private growth management pro- how they have changed over time. grams. Surveys are an important indicator of the This paper describes a new indicator of concern public’s increasing concern about the social and about the impacts of sprawl that allows policymakers environmental impacts of sprawl. A series of five and planners to easily, efficiently, and continuously surveys commissioned by the Pew Center for Civic monitor temporal change in attitudes about sprawl, as Journalism (2000) indicated that the negative effects well as regional and demographic variance. This of sprawl and growth are now edging out more social monitoring system is based on computer traditional issues, such as crime, in terms of overall content analysis of the public discussion about sprawl impact on the quality of life in local communities. contained in the news media. Sprawl has sparked an This was a significant increase from a 1994 Pew extensive public debate in the United States in recent Center poll. years that is being carried out in a number of forums The growth in referenda and ballot measures also in society, including public meetings and hearings, suggest a surge in concern about sprawl and interest in legislatures, the courts, demonstrations and protests, managing growth. For example, Myers (1999) found a and the news media. The media play a dual role in more than 50% increase in the number of state and these debates, serving as a direct forum for public local referenda on smart growth, preservation of open discourse on sprawl (through editorials, letters to the space, and preservation of farmland and historic editor, etc.) and reporting on discussion occurring in resources in the 1998 elections over 1996. Voters all other forums. Social theorist Jurgen Habermas has D.N. Bengston et al. / Forest Policy and Economics 7 (2005) 745–756 747 defined the term public sphere as a realm of social life cerned about their jobs and financial security in in which citizens can come together as a rational body economic bad times. In addition, it is during periods to debate issues of public concern, and in which of sustained economic growth that most new con- public opinion is formed. Habermas states, btoday struction occurs and open space is lost at an newspapers and magazines, radio and television are accelerated pace, causing greater concern. Our the media of the public sphereQ (Habermas, 1974,p. approach sheds light on this hypothesis because it 49). Analysis of the content of the news media thus is able to monitor changes in the nature and level of allows us to take the pulse of ongoing public debate concern temporally, regionally, and demographically. about social issues such as sprawl, and to track change The next section describes the computer content in the debate over time. analysis methodology and data used in this study. The The role of the media in both shaping and sections that follow describe the main concerns we reflecting public opinion on a wide range of social identified and how they vary spatially and regionally. issues has been well documented (Fan, 1988; We conclude with a discussion of the policy implica- McCombs, 2004; Page et al., 1987), and analysis of tions of these findings, future lines of investigation, the content of the news media has repeatedly been and the relevance of this approach in the planning and shown to produce results that parallel the findings of policy arenas. attitude surveys for many public policy issues (e.g., Fan, 1997; Fan and Cook, 2003; Gamson and Modigliani, 1989; Kepplinger and Roth, 1979; Par- 2. Methodology and data lour and Schatzow, 1978; Salwen, 1988; Shah et al., 2002). Further, related studies have found that the The methodology for this analysis involved the news media also strongly influence agenda-setting for following steps: (1) downloading news stories about public policy issues, i.e., there is a relationship urban and suburban sprawl from an online commer- between the relative emphasis given by the media to cial database, (2) bfilteringQ the downloaded text to issues and the degree of salience these topics have for eliminate irrelevant stories and paragraphs, (3) iden- the general public or the political agenda.
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