Perceptual Indicators of Environmental Health, Future Land Use, and Stewardship

There are important linkages between the health of humans and theenvironment, restoration of degraded lands, and long-term stewardship of public lands, yet most environmental indicators deal only with assessing the physical and biological aspects ofecosystems. In this article, we examine the ratings of perceptionsof several environmental problems for their utility as indicatorsof environmental quality, and examine perceptions of future land use by people interviewed in Santa Fe, New Mexico, near the Department of Energy's (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Overall, people with lower incomes rated environmental problems as more severe than others, were more willing to spend federal funds to solve them, and were consistent in their ratingsof severity of environmental problems and their willingness to spend federal funds. Cleaning up LANL and other Department of Energy sites, received the highest rating for expenditure of federal funds. The highest rated future uses for DOE sites were for recreation and for National Environmental Research Parks. People with less education generally gave higher ratings to mostfuture land uses for DOE than did those with more education. However, those with higher education gave higher ratings to nuclear reprocessing, and nuclear material storage. Where there were differences, the people interviewed at Santa Fe rated all environmental problems (except pesticides) as more severe than did those previously interviewed in Albuquerque (located fartherfrom the LANL site), and they were more willing to spend federalfunds on these problems. Ratings for all future land uses did notdiffer between the Santa Fe and Albuquerque respondents. These perception-based indicators show general agreement among peopleliving close and farther away from LANL with respect to cleaningup LANL and the future land uses for the site. These indicators should be considered by regulators, site personnel, and policy makers in future management and land use decisions.     

Attitudes and Perceptions about Ecological Resources, Hazards, and Future Land Use of People Living near the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

This paper examines the attitudes and perceptions of local people about ecological resources, environmental hazards, and future land use of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). Such monitoring of attitudes is an important aspect of environmental assessment. We interviewed 262 people who attended the 42nd Annual Free Fishermen's Breakfast at St. Anthony, Idaho, on 23 March 1997. We tested the null hypotheses that there were no differences in perceptions about ecological resources, hazards and future land use of INEEL as a function of gender, age, education, and place of residence. Dumping trash in the ocean and cutting rainforests rated as the environmental problems of highest concern, and ozone, radon and high voltage lines rated the lowest; cleaning up Department of Energy sites rated intermediate. Respondents were most willing to expend government funds to make drinking water clean. Three significant differences were found: 1) women rated environmental problems as more severe than did men, and women were more willing to expend federal funds to solve these problems, 2) respondents under 30 years of age rated environmental problems as more severe than older people, and they were more willing to spend money to solve them, and, 3) respondents who had not finished high school were more concerned with environmental problems and were more willing to spend money to solve them than respondents with a high school education. Maintaining INEEL as a National Environmental Research Park (NERP) rated as the most preferred future land use, followed by continued reprocessing of nuclear materials and hunting. Using INEEL for housing and additional nuclear waste storage rated the lowest. Men rated grazing livestock and additional nuclear waste storage higher than did women. In general, respondents from 30 – 49 rated several economic uses (hunting, grazing livestock, growing crops) higher than did people in other age groups. Respondents with some college rated these economic uses higher than did respondents who had not graduated from high school. These results indicate that respondents living around INEEL believe that INEEL should continue with a reprocessing and NERP mission, but that other peripheral uses, such as hunting, hiking and grazing, should be allowed on some of the land. These views should aid in environmental assessment of the site, and in developing further management plans for INEEL.     

Attitudes and Perceptions about Ecological Resources and Hazards of People Living Aroung the Savannah River Site

Although considerable attention is devoted to environmental monitoring and assessment with respect to both pollutants and the status of particular plant or animal populations, less attention is devoted to assessing people's attitudes about the relative importance of ecological resources. In this paper we examine the attitudes and perceptions about ecological resources of people living around the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS), in South Carolina. Our overall hypothesis is that people who are directly affected by the possible outcomes and consequences of a particular hazard (i.e., those people employed at SRS) will undervalue the risks and overvalue the potential benefits from future land uses that favor continued site activity, compared to people who live near but are not employed at SRS. We interviewed 286 people attending the Aiken Trials horse show on 14 March 1997. There were few gender differences, although men hunted and fished more than women, women ranked three environmental concerns as more severe than did men, and women were more concerned about the effect of SRS on property values. Maintenance of SRS as a National Environmental Research Park ranked first as a future land use; nuclear production ranked second, followed by hunting and hiking. Only residential development ranked very low as a future land use. There were many differences as a function of employment history at SRS: 1) people who work at SRS think that the federal government should spend funds to clean up all nuclear facilities, and they think less money should be spent on other environmental problems than did non-employees, 2) people who work at SRS ranked continued current uses of SRS higher than did people who never worked at SRS, and 3) people who work at SRS are less concerned about the storage of nuclear material or accidents at the site than are people who never worked at the site.     

An Assessment of People's Satisfaction with the Public Hearing on the Yadana Natural Gas Pipeline Project

Many public and large-scale construction projects inThailand have been faced with environmental and socialconflict problems. The major cause is that project sponsorsdo not address concerns of the public in a proper mannerduring EIA study. The Yadana Natural Gas Pipeline (YNGP)project is an example of a project which suffered theeffects of public demonstration. A public hearing, onetechnique of public participation, is a good mechanism tosolve conflict problems in a non-violent way which the ThaiGovernment usually adopts to settle conflict in constructionprojects. In the case of the YNGP, even after the conflictwas resolved hostility towards the project was noteliminated, as the opponents were not satisfied with thedecision. Therefore, this article examines the hearing on theYNGP project. The study found that it was too late to make any significantchanges to the project after the hearing was held, mostrespondents were not satisfied with the project. In otherwords, this hearing did not improve their perception ofenvironmental soundness of the project. The study showedthat the project's impact on the environment was notproperly addressed. The project sponsors did not providesufficient publicity for the meeting and the stage at whichthe hearing was conducted. Suggestions are made forimproving participation in future hearings.     

Assessing perceptions about ecosystem health and restoration options in three east coast estuaries

Increasingly public and governmental agencies are concerned aboutrevitalizing coastal environments. Understanding how the publicuses these areas, and what they see as the most important improvements to these regions is critical to their assessment andmanagement. Uses of three estuaries, and perceptions of possiblemanagement and restoration options, were examined for people whowere interviewed in the New York/New Jersey Harbor, Manasquan Inlet, and Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Nearly 90% of the people interviewed listed pollution as New Jersey's most important environmental problem. Most people (68%) used the habitat for outdoor sports, but rated communing with nature, walking, and the provision of open `green' space as the most valued uses. Pollution prevention was the most often mentioned habitat improvement desired, and people rated removing pollution, cleaning up garbage, and creating more fish breeding habitat the highest. There were significant locational differences inhow people used the estuaries, and in how they thought they should be improved. People from Barnegat Bay ranked most uses higher than did people from elsewhere, while the people from Manasquan Inlet rated the importance of most remediation and restoration actions higher. Many of the improvements fall withinenvironmental management, including (rank order from high to low)creating more fish breeding habitat, improving native vegetation,improving habitat for birds, increasing plant diversity,improving habitat for butterflies, and enlarging adjacentmarshes. The data provide clear support for the importance ofthese coastal habitats for communing with nature and having open`green space' spaces, and for providing recreationalopportunities. To enhance their value, people want to removepollution and improve both the habitat quality and the educational and recreational facilities.     

Identification of heavy metal pollutants using multivariate analysis and effects of land uses on their accumulation in urban soils in Beijing, China

In order to evaluate the current state of the environmental quality of soils in Beijing, we investigated contents of 14 metals in Beijing urban soils inside the 5th ring road by even grids sampling. Statistic analyses were conducted to identify possible heavy metal pollutants, as well as the effects of land uses on their accumulation. Our results revealed that the urban soils in Beijing were contaminated by Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn. Land uses and urbanization ages affected the accumulation of the four heavy metals in soils significantly. Soils in industrial areas have the highest average Cu and Zn contents, while Pb contents in park areas and Cd in agricultural areas are the highest. The accumulations of Pb and Zn in urban soils increase significantly with sampling plots approaching the city center. And Pb, Cd, and Zn contents in soils in traffic areas also tend to increase in the city center. However, residential areas have the lowest contents of all the four heavy metals.     

An independent review and prioritization of past radionuclide and chemical releases from the Los Alamos National Laboratory--implications for future dose reconstruction studies

From 1999 through 2010, a team of scientists and engineers systematically reviewed approximately eight million classified and unclassified documents at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that describe historical off-site releases of radionuclides and chemicals in order to determine the extent to which a full-scale dose reconstruction for releases is warranted and/or feasible. As a part of this effort, a relative ranking of historical airborne and waterborne radionuclide releases from LANL was established using priority index (PI) values that were calculated from estimated annual quantities released and the maximum allowable effluent concentrations according to The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC). Chemical releases were ranked based on annual usage estimates and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) toxicity values. PI results for airborne radionuclides indicate that early plutonium operations were of most concern between 1948 and 1961, in 1967, and again from 1970 through 1973. Airborne releases of uranium were found to be of most interest for 1968, from 1974 through 1978, and again in 1996. Mixed fission products yielded the highest PI value for 1969. Mixed activation product releases yielded the highest PI values from 1979 to 1995. For waterborne releases, results indicate that plutonium is of most concern for all years evaluated with the exception of 1956 when (90)Sr yielded the highest PI value. The prioritization of chemical releases indicate that four of the top five ranked chemicals were organic solvents that were commonly used in chemical processing and for cleaning. Trichloroethylene ranked highest, indicating highest relative potential for health effects, for both cancer and non-cancer effects. Documents also indicate that beryllium was used in significant quantities, which could have lead to residential exposures exceeding established environmental and occupational exposure limits, and warrants further consideration. In part because of the close proximity of residents to LANL, further study of historical LANL releases and the potential impact to public health is recommended for those materials with the largest priority index values; namely, plutonium, uranium, and selected chemicals.     

Monitoring and assessment of heavy metal/metalloid concentration by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) method in Gonyeli Lake,Cyprus

The presence of heavy metals/metalloids in the ecosystem has been an increasing ecological and global public health concern due to their potential to cause adverse health effects. For this reason, the accumulation of some heavy metals such as Cr, Mn, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, Pb was assessed by way of ICP-MS in water, sediment and fish (Cyprinus carpio) sampled from Gonyeli Lake, North Cyprus. The results showed that these metals/metalloids are found widespread throughout the study area. In water, most concentrated element was manganese with 92.1 ppb and least concentrated was lead with 0.914 ppb. In sediment, copper had the highest concentration with 613 ppm, and cadmium the lowest with 1.57 ppm. In fish tissues (muscle and gills), the most concentrated element was manganese with 12.5 ppm and the least concentrated cadmium with 0.017 ppm. These results indicate that future remediation efforts are indispensable for the rehabilitation of the lake.     

Government policy influences on rangeland conditions in the United States: A case example

Since the early 1970s the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service have emphasized the monitoring approach in managing their rangelands. After a 5-year period of intensive monitoring, stocking rate and other management actions are typically adjusted, depending on whether a definite downward or upward trend in range condition is observed. Examining the Afton Allotment on BLM land in southcentral New Mexico, we demonstrate serious flaws in the monitoring approach and other BLM grazing policies. Monitoring reflects past management but does not consider the future. Perverse incentives for permittees to maximize permit value rather than sustain the forage base still remain in place. The Range Reform '94 proposals by the U.S. Department of the Interior do not address these incentives and other flaws in public land policy. We would reform federal grazing land policy by coupling grazing fees to grazing intensity. Ranchers choosing conservative sustainable grazing intensities would pay low fees, whereas those choosing heavy grazing intensities would be charged higher rates. We would also implement other reforms: making livestock grazing permits transferable to other uses, discontinuing subsidies, eliminating restrictions on nonuse, offering incentives for public land investment, and establishing a biodiversity fund.This paper was supported by the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station, Las Cruces and was part of project 1-5-27417.     

A Long-Term Forecast Analysis On Worldwide Land Uses

Abstact More and more lands worldwide are being cultivated for food production while forests are disappearing at an unprecedented rate. This paper aims to make a long-term forecast on land uses worldwide and provide the publics, researchers, and government officials with a clear profile for land uses in the future. Data of land uses since 1961 were used to fit historical trajectories and make the forecast. The results show that trajectories of land areas can be well fitted with univariate linear regressions. The forecasts of land uses during the coming 25 years were given in detail.Areas of agricultural land, arable land, and permanent pasture land worldwide would increase by 6.6%, 7.2%, and 6.3% respectively in the year 2030 as compared to the current areas. Permanent crops land area all over the world is forecasted to increase 0.64% by 2030. By the year 2030 the areas of forests and woodland, nonarable and nonpermanent land worldwide would decrease by 2.4% and 0.9% against the current areas. All other land area in the world would dramatically decline by 6.4% by the year 2030.Overall the land area related to agriculture would tend to decrease in developed countries, industrialized countries, Europe, and North and Central America. The agriculture related land area would considerably increase in developing countries, least developed countries, low-income countries, Asia, Africa, South America, etc.Developing countries hold larger total land area than developed countries. Dramatic and continuous growth in agricultural land area of developing countries would largely contribute to the expected growth of world agricultural land area in the coming years. Population explosion, food shortage and poverty in the world, especially in developing countries, together caused the excessive cultivation of land for agricultural uses in the past years. Increasing agricultural land area exacerbates the climate changes and degradation of environment. How to limit the growth of human population is a key problem for reducing agricultural land expansion. Development and use of high-yielding and high-quality crop and animal varieties, diversification of human food sources, and technical and financial assistance to developing countries from developed countries, should also be implemented and strengthened in the future in order to slow down or even reverse the increase trend of agricultural land area. Sustainable agriculture is the effective way to stabilize the agricultural land area without food shortage. Through various techniques and measures, sustainable agriculture may meet the food production goals with minimum environmental risk. Public awareness and interest in sustainable agriculture will help realize and ease the increasing stress from agricultural land expansion.     

Bioindicator organisms: Heavy metal pollution evaluation in the Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea—Italy)

Trace metal concentrations of mercury, cadmium, lead and chromium in Patella caerulea, and Mullus barbatus were investigated to provide information on pollution of Ionian Sea, since these metals have the highest toxic potential. High chromium levels (0.47–0.97 g g^–1 ww) were registered in limpet samples collected from two station near the Gulf of Taranto, while elevated concentration of mercury (0.31–1.50 g g^–1 ww) were found in mullet specimens from Sicily. The metal concentrations recorded at the clean stations may be considered as useful background levels to which to refer for comparison within the Mediterranean area. On the contrary, the high levels of chromium and mercury found respectively in the areas near the Gulf of Taranto and at Capo Passero being of concern in terms of environmental health need frequent monitoring.     

Establishing ecological networks for habitat conservation in the case of ?e?me�CUrla Peninsula, Turkey

The study involves the Çe?me?CUrla Peninsula, where habitat fragmentation and loss, which threaten biological diversity, have become an urgent matter of concern in recent decades. The study area has been subjected to anthropogenic pressures and alterations due to ongoing and impending land uses. Therefore, ecological networks, as an appropriate way to deal with habitat fragmentation and loss and to improve ecological quality, were identified in the study area as one of the early attempts in the country to maintain its rich biodiversity. In this sense, core areas and ecological linkages as primary components of ecological networks were established on the basis of sustaining natural habitats. A GIS-based model was created to identify core areas and to facilitate the ecological connectivity. The modeling process for core areas and corridors combined 14 and 21 different variables, respectively. The variables were used as environmental inputs in the model, and all analyses were materialized in ArcGIS 9.2 using grid functions of image analysis and spatial analyst modules. As a result, six core areas and 36 corridor alternatives were materialized. Furthermore, some recommendations for the implementation and management of the proposed ecological networks were revealed and discussed.     

A soil-site evaluation index of productivity in intensively managed Pinus radiata (D. Don) plantations in South Australia

A limiting-factor, environmental model for radiata pine (Pinus radiata (D. Don)) has been developed using landform and soil morphological features that influence site productivity. The model focuses on soil and landscape constraints to productivity and predicts the native productivity of land and tree species. It permits the integration of land-use objectives for a catchment through forest management and use of silvicultural practices which increase productivity. The soil site evaluation index (SSEI) is an index of forest productivity found when silviculture extends only to the minimum amount of site disturbance needed to establish a plantation of radiata pine. The impacts of intensive silvicultural practices were deducted from the Site Quality productivity survey rating to calculate the unimproved yield class (uYC). We calculated SSEI by range standardising uYC values from 0 to 1. SSEI was correlated with the environmental factors in a regression tree model using readily available analytical software. The model accurately predicts unimproved forest productivity from observed soil horizon and land surface properties. The environmental constraints in low lying areas relate to waterlogging, soil sodicity and gravel content. In elevated areas, plant available water storage, rock weathering, landform, ironstone gravel and aspect are recognised factors for pine growth.     

A GIS-based approach for the long-term prediction of human health risks at contaminated sites

A Health Index/Risk Evaluation Tool (HIRET) has been developed for the integration of risk assessment and spatial planning using GIS capabilities. The method is meant to assist decision makers and site owners in the evaluation of potential human health risk with respect to land use. Human health risk defined as the potential adverse effects on human life or health is generally accepted as the most important aspect for site assessment and planning of remediation strategies. It concerns polluted sites that endanger human health on one hand and derelict land that does not cause the immediate risk on the other hand. In current state-of-the-art risk-assessment, long-term spatial and temporal changes of risks, in relation to changes in contamination patterns and land use functions, are not taken into account. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the methodology developed for human health risk assessment in aspect of spatial and temporal domain. HIRET was developed as an extension for ESRI software ArcView 3.2 and allows performing dynamic human health risk assessment in long-term period, which is relevant for land use planning. The paper illustrates how such methodology can assist in environmental decision-making to enhance the efficiency of contaminated land management. A case study of contaminated site is given showing how data can be used within a GIS framework to produce maps indicating areas of potential human health risk.     

Assessing land take by urban development and its impact on carbon storage: Findings from two case studies in Italy

Land take due to urbanization triggers a series of negative environmental impacts with direct effects on quality of life for people living in cities. Changes in ecosystem services are associated with land take, among which is the immediate C loss due to land use conversion. Land use change monitoring represents the first step in quantifying land take and its drivers and impacts. To this end, we propose an innovative methodology for monitoring land take and its effects on ecosystem services (in particular, C loss) under multi-scale contexts. The devised approach was tested in two areas with similar sizes, but different land take levels during the time-span 1990–2008 in Central Italy (the Province of Rome and the Molise Region). The estimates of total coverage of built up areas were calculated using point sampling. The area of the urban patches including each sampling point classified as built up areas in the year 1990 and/or in the year 2008 is used to estimate total abundance and average area of built up areas. Biophysical and economic values for carbon loss associated with land take were calculated using InVEST.Although land take was 7–8 times higher in the Province of Rome (from 15.1% in 1990 to 20.4% in 2008) than in Molise region, our findings show that its relative impact on C storage is higher in the latter, where the urban growth consistently affects not only croplands but also semi-natural land uses such as grasslands and other wooded lands. The total C loss due to land take has been estimated in 1.6 million Mg C, corresponding to almost 355 million €.Finally, the paper discusses the main characteristics of urban growth and their ecological impact leading to risks and challenges for future urban planning and land use policies.     

A web application to support the quantification and valuation of ecosystem services

Assessing the impacts of policies on a wide range of ecosystem services can support the development of cost-effective policies that establish win–win situations across different environmental domains. To explore the quantity and value of ecosystem services, the web-based application “nature value explorer” was developed. The application allows to estimate the impact of land use and land cover change on regulating and cultural ecosystem services in Flanders, Belgium. To ensure the applicability in day-to-day decision making as part of environmental impact assessments, user requirements were investigated prior to tool development. Finding the optimal balance between accuracy and complexity on the one hand and flexibility and user-friendliness on the other hand was an important challenge. To date, the nature value explorer has been successful in drawing the interest of policy makers and has been used several times to support decisions in infrastructure projects as well as in nature restoration projects in Flanders. This paper discusses the user requirements, the main tool characteristics, potential policy applications and future improvements. Three case studies illustrate the functionalities of the tool in day-to-day decision making. The tool can be consulted on http://www.natuurwaardeverkenner.be.     

对国家环境保护野外观测研究站建设的几点思考

《国家环境保护"十二五"科技发展规划》提出将国家环境保护野外观测研究站作为"十二五"环境科技支撑能力建设内容之一;在《"十二五"国家自主创新能力建设规划》中也将国家野外科学观测研究站(网)作为科技创新基础条件的建设内容。在分析环保部门生态环境观测研究台站建设现状基础上,对国家环境保护野外观测研究台站的建设目标与定位、空间布局、运行机制、监测与评价技术体系构建、监测指标体系框架等进行分析探讨。在目标与定位上,国家环境保护野外观测研究台站既要与目前国内主要的生态环境监测网络(如中国生态系统研究网络和中国森林生态系统定位研究网络)形成补充,同时也要突出环保部门特色;在空间布局上既要关注水、空气、土壤污染的重点监控区,也要关注生态脆弱区、重要(点)生态功能区等生态敏感区;在技术体系上,要研究建立标准化、规范化的观测技术体系,同时也要注重生态环境评价方法研究,为生态环境精准化管理提供技术支持。     

The spatial convergence and drivers of environmental efficiency under haze constraints - Evidence from China

Haze has seriously threatened the ecological environment and public health, so researching environmental efficiency under haze constraints is significant in managing pollution and evaluating the balance between economic development and environmental health. Based on the panel data of China's 99 cities during 2005–2017, this paper uses α-convergence and β-convergence models to analyze the spatial convergence of environmental efficiency under haze constraints and its drivers in China,specifically in Eastern China, Central China, and Western China.The main results are as follows: (1) The trend of environmental efficiency under haze constraints in these regions evidently follows a dumbbell curve. In recent years, it has been growing slowly in Eastern China, Central China, and Western China, and the environmental efficiency in the Eastern China is the highest, the Central China is the second, and the Western China is the lowest; (2) it demonstrates both α-convergence and β-convergence in Central China, Western China, and Eastern China, and the speed of convergence is the fastest in the Central China, the second in the Western China and the slowest in the Eastern China; there is a “catch-up effect” in cities from less environmentally efficient regions to more efficient regions; and (3) Industrial structure and degree of trade dependence have a significantly negative correlation; characteristics of the region and dependence on foreign investment have significantly positive correlations with the environmental efficiency of Eastern China and Central China; environmental regulations and economic scale limit the improvement of environmental efficiency of Central China and Western China; and technological innovation significantly impacts Eastern China only. Although the paper refers to the specific evidence of China, with haze as a new indicator in the comprehensive evaluation of environmental efficiency can be extended to other developing countries as well as to other pollutants such as land pollution and waste water. The understanding of drivers of environmental efficiency under haze constraints in China provides international policy-makers with valuable reference for formulating effective measures to balance the dilemma between economic development and environmental health.     

Metal loads and biomarker suite responses in a tropical carnivorous fish indicative of anthropogenic impacts in a Southeastern Brazilian lagoon

Tropical coastal lagoons are highly productive environments exhibiting high biodiversity. However, the use of these ecosystems by local communities is of concern, since this generally leads to environmental degradation. The Imboassica coastal lagoon, located in Macaé city, in Northern Rio de Janeiro, is an important ecosystem in the state, however, already displaying signs of anthropogenic impacts. Carnivorous fish Hoplias malabaricus specimens were sampled from this impacted site, as well as from a reference area. Fish from Imboassica Lagoon presented lower condition factor, lower cholinesterase activity, and higher percentage of erythrocyte micronuclei when compared to fish from the reference site. Metals in fish from Imboassica Lagoon were always higher than Encantada Lagoon, with some seasonal differences, where some metals were higher in the rainy season compared to the dry season in muscle tissue, with the exception of Cu, Fe, Sr, and Zn; and in the liver, except for Ba, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Sr. Cr and Mn in the edible muscle portion of the fish were higher than the limits established by Brazilian and International legislations as permissible for human consumption, thus leading to concerns regarding public health risks for the local population that use fish as their main protein source.     

Problems caused by land-misuse; the sample of Erzurum

In especially urban areas and their proximity, environmental pollution has reached a level which threatens both people and public health. Although environmental problems in Turkey have been studied for many cities, including Erzurum, no study is present combining all the environmental matters of the city with short definitions of problems it faces, therefore, this study attempts to reveal the definition of the scope and problem of pollution and land use problems in Erzurum and use of studies from developing cities elsewhere in the world for comparison of methods and solutions.