Orem, Utah: a Study in Urban Land Use

Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1976 Orem, Utah: A Study in Urban Land Use George G. Shaw Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Geography Commons, and the Mormon Studies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Shaw, George G., "Orem, Utah: A Study in Urban Land Use" (1976). Theses and Dissertations. 5102. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/5102 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 2 C 1 97& OREM UTAH i A STUDY IN URBAN LAND USE A thesis presented to the department of geography brighamBrighaldhaidharn young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of science by george G shaw april 1976 this thesis by george G shaw is accepted in its present form by the department of geography of brigham young university as satisfying the thesis re- quirementquirement for thee degreeagreeegree of master of science 4 y JL richardardlyH jacjackson ctbmmismitteemmitteetteeatee chairman ric ksontcsont robertaRobertlrobertlerobertl11 layton aifimitt&e member FU c-a n date robert L Layt6n D rtmeht chairman ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES e 9 s e e s v LIST OF illustrations vi acknowledgments vii chapter I1 introduction 1 statement of the problem the study area limitationsdelimitationsDe of study II11 REVIEW OF literature 5 land use theories forty eight selected cities milwaukee wisconsin salt lake city utah provotprovoprovos utah lilliiIII111 historical background AND GROWTH OF OREM UTAH 0 12 site and situation settlement urban growth description of study area IV methodology EMPLOYED 19 field work classification of land use computation of acreage computerization of data data extraction cartographic representation V LAND USE IN OREM stahlutahlUTAH 1975 272 residential commercial ililii111 iv chapter industrial public and quasi public streets agriculture vacant VI LAND USE BY CENSUS TRACT AND ZONE AND DENSITY 43 land use by census tract land use by zone developed land dwelling units population and density automobile space VII conclusions AND recommendations 74 land use comparisons land use summary the land use plan residential commercial industrial public and quasi public streets agriculture vacant APPENDIX e 0 0 1 90 bibliography 96 LIST OF TABLES table page 1 land use in selected american cities by percentage of use 7 2 land use in oremiboremi 1975 28 3 residential land use in orems 1975 31 4 commercial land use in oremiboremi 1975 34 5 industrial land use in oremioremboremi 1975 35 6 public and quasi public land use in oremiboremi 1975 38 7 agricultural land use in oremiboremi 1975 41 8 acreage in orem by census tract i 1975 1.1 45 9 land use in orem by census tract i 1975 46 10 land use in orem city by zoneigonei 1975 54 11 dwelling units in oremiboremi 1975 62 12 estimated population of oremioremboremi 1975 66 13 added dwelling units and population in oremioremboremi 1975 68 14 dwelling unit and population density in oremiboremi 1975 70 15 automobile space in oremiboremi 1975 73 16 land use change in orem citticitycityi 196519751965 1975 76 v LIST OF illustrations figure page 1 orem city utah county utah 13 2 the 1975 land use map of orem utah 26 3 single and multi family residential land in orem utah 30 4 commercial and industrial land in orem utah 33 5 public and quasi public land in orem utah 37 6 agricultural and vacant land in orem utah 40 7 census tracts in orem utah 44 8 zoning map of orem utah 56 9 percentage of single and multiple dwelling units by census tract in orem utah 64 10 distribution of 1975 population in orem utah 67 11 population density in orem utah 71 vi acknowledgments there are many to whom I1 am indebted for the completion of this thesis I1 am appreciative of randall deschamps direc- tor of orem city community development department and don W baird orem city zoning administrator for their assistance in the land use inventory for the geographical knowledge and cartographic skills which I1 have learned I1 am grateful to the fac- ulty of the department of geography of brigham young university I1 am especially grateful to the members of my committee dr richard jackson and dr robert layton for their help in bringing my research into final written form to my wife lorna I1 am grateful for support and c onstantconstantconstantenc ouraouragementencouragementgement vii CHAPTER I1 introduction orem utah is a good example of a community which is undergoing changes from rural to urban land uses where agricultural land is rapidly giving way to urban development A thorough land use inventory of the city is necessary in order to understand present land use characteristics an inventory was carried out and a land use plan was formulated from the data the urban environment is only one of the many areas of study that is of interest to geographers the study of spatial organization which has been em- phasizedphasized by modern geography makes the urban area a viable place for research geographers study the expansion and increasing reach of the metropolitan areas the spread of people and ideas from place to place and mansman own perception of the hazards and opportunities to be found in his environment with their concern for effective space management and through ap- plication of their scientific methods geographers provide a unique insight into mans status in his world taaffe 1970 many geographers have made contributions to the study of land use in urban areas land use theories have been proposed by burgess 1925 hoyt 1939 and 1 2 harris and ullman 1945 several contributions have been made in respect to urban location theories such as those of berry 1961967 1968 simmons 1964 gottman 1961 and murphy 19729-197219741974 statement of the problem it is no hidden fact that our nation is undergoing rapid urbanization increasing demands are made on the land as raw acreage is converted to urban uses it is estimated that between 1974 and the year 2000 that approximately eighteen million acres in the united states will change to urban uses U S dept of agriculture 1974 much of this acreage will come from present agricultural areas adjacent to urban centers the conversion of open space to urban uses presents the problem of how to best use the new urban land poor urban land use can be found in most areas urban sprawl is stimulated by poorly distributed subdivisions with inadequate services construction in areas susceptible to natural hazards roads and land development on mountainsides and other environmentally sensitive areas and the reduction of open space and productive agricultural land germanow and grimsley 1973 the economic and social costsofcosts of poor use of land although not recognized by most people are appalling in respect to both communities and individuals 3 to combat these problems planners have sought to develop master plans to help direct urban growth an integral part of these plans is the actual land use plan to be implemented long range planning is important and presents a major challenge in anticipating future growth in order to construct an urban land use plan a thorough inventory must be made of existing land use areas of probable growth and the best use of such land only by accomplishing this prerequisite can an accurate view of present land use be obtained and thus used in rational land use decision making log- ical land use change is then a greater possibility and many of the conflicts between land uses can be solved the study area the city of orem utah was chosen as the study area for a variety of reasons orem city initially was a rural agricultural community but has undergone many changes in the past three decades resultant rapid growth is evidenced by the changes in land use the community is now undergoing changes that larger cities have gone through much earlier and thus a land use inventory may help avoid many of the problems that our urban centers are experiencing the city is presently facing land use decisions of importance and the residents are concerned about the growth and what it 4 brings and also are concerned about the reduction of agricultural land in the city randall 1961976 the accessibility of the area for study the cooperation of the city employees and the availability of research materials were also important in selecting the study area A considerable amount of useful information can be extracted from a land use inventory for example many questions can be answered about the basic cha- racteristicsacteristics of the city and the use of land the land can be classified into general areas for useful analysis of land use by type other data which can be extracted include the number of specific land use activities within the city and the acreages involved the land use of neighborhoods or specific areas of the city the interrelationship of land use and zoning the total developed land in the community the total and character of dwelling units population and density and automobile space CHAPTER II11 REVIEW OF literature land use theories three basic land use theories have been used to explain urban structure they are the concentric zone theory the sector theory and the multi nuclei theory in the concentric zone model park burgess and mckenzie 1925 it was theorized that the american city was made up of five concentric

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