Chapter 10
Environmental capital includes a wide range of resources, including agricultural land, plant
(4) they cannot be replaced by other sources.
Natural amenities can be valued for several different reasons: (1) people can directly use the
amenity, such as through recreation; (2) people can intend to use it in the future; (3) people can
(1) development can destroy amenities; (2) the lack of development may make it difficult to
preserve natural amenities; (3) preservation of amenities contributes to development, such as
tourism; and (4) preservation of amenities leads to nondevelopment, because landowners are
limited in what they can do with their resources.
Most theories about natural resources focus on the export theory and the local economy. This
and income inequality. Amenity-based development does appear to lead to fiscal stress among
communities, however.
Discussion Questions
Ch. 10
1. How effective has your community been in curbing sprawl? What has the community done
recently to promote more high-density development?
2. How effective has your community been in reusing abandoned buildings or vacant
properties? How have these properties been used?