Modeling the Per Capita Ecological Footprint for Dallas County, Texas:
Examining Demographic, Environmental Value, Land-Use, and Spatial Influences [pdf 8,180 kb]

Hyung-Cheal Ryu
Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning
Texas A&M University

With documented declines in the biophysical state of the planet, Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) has been promoted as a policy guide and planning tool for sustainability (Wackernagel et al, 1997). EFA is an indicator of sustainability that converts consumption and waste production into units of equivalent land area (Flint, 2001). Ecological footprint (EF) studies have been conducted at the global/national (e.g., Wackernagel et al., 2002), municipal/institutional (e.g., Barret and Scott, 2003; Flint, 2001), and individual levels (Crompton et al., 2002). These studies show that humans are liquidating natural capital, thereby reducing the Earth’s capacity to support future life. While a great deal of work has been done to measure the size of an ecological footprint and it associated environmental impact, there is no empirical research on how to effectively reduce footprint size and achieve ecologically sustainable approaches to development. Thus, an important next step is to examine which factors affect the EF account.

This study addresses the drivers causing the variation in the per capita EF in Dallas County, Texas. A main hypothesis is that scientifically estimated demography, environmental values, spatial attributes, and land-use patterns surrounding an individual are significant factors in the size of per capita EF.

This study will be based on survey method and (Geographic Information Systems) GIS routines. Additionally, a multiple regression method will be employed to address the study question. The survey will measure respondents’ EF using ‘Ecological Footprint Quiz’ (Redefining Progress, 2004) that consists of sixteen questions regarding individual food, goods/services, mobility, and housing consumption. GIS technologies will be used to objectively measure the spatial attributes. Particularly, the Shannon’s Entropy Index will be used to measure the Mixed-use and sprawl patterns which would have a direct effect on individual transportation (Johnson, 2001) and housing EF (Kahn, 2001). Assuming that a person with strong environmental values will have a lower per capita EF than a person with weak environmental values, the environmental values will be measured by selected questions from the questions initially used by Van Liere and Dunlap (1980). Respondents will be asked to indicate whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree, or have no opinion on seven separate questions regarding the degree to which humans are impacting the environment. Responses will be ranged from 1 (strongly agreeing that humans are abusing the natural environment) to 4 (strongly disagreeing that humans are abusing the environment) and will be combined into a single variable. The targeted study population is 800 residents of Dallas County selected from the U.S. 2000 Census. The unit of analysis is an individual.

First, this study will contribute not only to understanding the ecological and social dimensions of the environment accepted as essential for sustainability (Flint, 2001), but also the spatial dimension. Second, this is the first attempt to measure per capita EF using a survey method involving a case in North Central Texas. Third, this study will provide appropriate policy implications for sustainability planning emphasizing the role of land-use planning.

Data will be obtained from various sources. Individual EF accounts and their demography will be collected through a survey. Purchased from ITC data, Inc., The 2003 Dallas Central Appraisal District residential records will be utilized for the sampling procedure. U.S. 2000 Census data was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau to measure the demographic/housing density surrounding a household. GIS-based Census TIGER data and the 2000 land-use map for Dallas County were downloaded from the North Central Texas Geodata Warehouse web site. Landsat 7 ETM+ NLAPS image was purchased from the Texas Natural Resources Information System (TNRIS) to measure the spatial patterns of urban sprawl within the neighborhood of each respondent.

References
Chambers, N., C. Simmons and M. Wackernagel. 2000. Sharing Nature’s Interest: Ecological Footprints as an Indicator of Sustainability. London: Earthscan.

Rees, W. and M. Wackernagel. 1996. Urban Ecological Footprints: Why Cites Cannot be Sustainable – and Why They are a Key to Sustainability. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 16: 223-248.

Simmons, C. and N. Chambers. 1998. Footprinting UK Households: How Big is Your Ecological Garden? Local Environment 3 (2): 355-362.

Venetoulis, J. 2001. Consuming The Earth: Money, Values, Land Use, & Ecological Footprints in Los Angeles. Dissertation. Claremont Graduate University.

Wackernagel, M., C. Monfreda and D. Deumling. 2002. Ecological Footprint of Nations: How much nature do they use? How much nature do they have? Redefining Progress.

Keywords
Ecological Footprint; Sustainability; Land use; GIS and Remote Sensing; Dallas County, TX