A geographic information system for residential development plans: Generating physical desirability surfaces

Residential development on the urban fringe is a complex process. Developers are confronted with a diversity of considerations that has made site selection a difficult task. A possible solution may be the creation of a comprehensive information system to aid developers in their general site selection decisions. This study, then, is intended as a first step toward the development of such a system. The primary objectives of the study were four-fold: (1) to demonstrate that there is more to a landscape than meets the eye; (2) to provide developers with a unique way of looking at some of the geographic concerns that confront them; (3) to hopefully provide an aid to developers regarding their general site selection decisions; and (4) to suggest a paradigm for a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS). The study is conceptually-oriented. A GIS was created in which the distribution of selected physical attributes was employed to determine site desirability for residential development. The following considerations were included in the study: (1) the availability of paved streets; (2) the availability of utilities (sewer, water, and gas); and (3) the availability of favorable topography. Physical desirability surfaces were generated for a study area to reveal the presence of, and accessibility to, each of the desired features. The culmination of the study was the creation of a final desirability surface which revealed aggregate residential development potential from the standpoint of economic feasibility. The system created in this study represents a working part of a proposed comprehensive GIS for residential development planning. Before any real-world applications are undertaken, an expansion of the system would be required. However, this working system displays potential as a good starting point towards the creation of more advanced systems that would accommodate ever-larger and more diverse data bases

The Legacy of Leaded Gasoline in Bottom Sediment of Small Rural Reservoirs

The historical and ongoing lead (Pb) contamination caused by the 20th-century use of leaded gasoline was investigated by an analysis of bottom sediment in eight small rural reservoirs in eastern Kansas, USA. For the reservoirs that were completed before or during the period of maximum Pb emissions from vehicles (i.e., the 1940s through the early 1980s) and that had a major highway in the basin, increased Pb concentrations reflected the pattern of historical leaded gasoline use. For at least some of these reservoirs, residual Pb is still being delivered from the basins. There was no evidence of increased Pb deposition for the reservoirs completed after the period of peak Pb emissions and (or) located in relatively remote areas with little or no highway traffic. Results indicated that several factors affected the magnitude and variability of Pb concentrations in reservoir sediment including traffic volume, reservoir age, and basin size. The increased Pb concentrations at four reservoirs exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threshold-effects level (30.2 mg kg-1) and frequently exceeded a consensus-based threshold-effects concentration (35.8 mg kg-1) for possible adverse biological effects. For two reservoirs it was estimated that it will take at least 20 to 70 yr for Pb in the newly deposited sediment to return to baseline (pre-1920s) concentrations (30 mg kg-1) following the phase out of leaded gasoline. The buried sediment with elevated Pb concentrations may pose a future environmental concern if the reservoirs are dredged, the dams are removed, or the dams fail

Geomorphic effects of overflow dams on the lower Neosho River, Kansas /

"September 1999"--P. [1].Shipping list no.: 99-0377-P.Caption title.Includes bibliographical references (p. [6]).Mode of access: Internet

Channel-bed elevation changes downstream from large reservoirs in Kansas /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 24).Mode of access: Internet

Estimation of potential runoff-contributing areas in Kansas using topographic and soil information /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 29).Mode of access: Internet

Estimation of potential runoff-contributing areas in the Kansas-Lower Republican River Basin, Kansas /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 24).Mode of access: Internet