Approaches to Urban Land Conservation Governance

Around the globe cities are growing and expanding in size. Growing urbanization changes the face of our planet. Since every city, county, and state have a set amount of land that they can conserve or develop, this thesis intends to establish the relations between land conservation, economic, and social processes in the selected area. This research is a work in progress. This thesis focuses on urban land conservation governance. From the very beginning this paper has been focusing on research and study of different approaches to land conservation governance that help municipalities to maintain and use their land resources. This thesis analyzes conservation policies, programs, ordinances, and plans that the City of Albuquerque uses in the context of its interactions with Bernalillo County, the Albuquerque Metro Area and the State of New Mexico for a case-study. Statistical analysis provides additional information on what factors influence conservation in urban areas. This paper also researches current methods of funding for public land conservation. This thesis analyses the impact of economic benefits and externalities of land conservation within the city limits. This paper intends to establish the connections between different factors that influence urban land conservation governance. Keywords: land conservation, urbanization, governance