August 1998 DELAWARE VALLEY REGIONAL PLANNING COMMSSION

This Data Bulletin contains 1995 Land Use information for the DVRPC 9-county region. DVRPC completed a digital land use file based on aerial photography flown in March through May of 1995. Land use was interpreted in seventeen categories from 1330 Photo Atlas Sheets at the 1 inch = 400 ft. scale.

The annotated photographs were digitized to create computer-aided mapping (CAM) line work which was registered to USGS 1 inch = 2,000 ft quad maps. Each area was annotated with its land use classification and the results incorporated into the DVRPC CAM and Geographic Information System (GIS) system. DVRPC member county planning departments reviewed the draft maps and they were revised accordingly.

The seventeen categories are: single-family detached residential, single-family attached residential, multi-family residential, mobile homes, manufacturing, transportation, parking, utilities, commercial, community service, military, recreation, agriculture, mining, wooded, vacant, and water. These categories are defined in the Appendix of this Bulletin on page 31. For this bulletin, mobile homes are classified as single-family detached units, and parking is included in the transportation category.

The county and regional totals produced from these files are presented in Table 1 on page 3 for quick reference. Land use figures at the minor civil division (MCD) level for each of the nine counties are presented in Table 2. Tables 3 and 4 contain the same land use information as Tables 1 and 2; however, the figures are in acres rather than square miles.

For this bulletin, 25% of all residential land in all counties except Philadelphia was subtracted from the residential total and added to the transportation category, to account for local roads. In Philadelphia, 25% was subtracted from all classifications except military, mining, and water and added to the transportation category, to account for the increased density of the local road network.

Because of the change in the way land use has been classified, this Data Bulletin cannot and should not be compared with DVRPC land use data issued prior to Data Bulletin No. 58, 1990 Revised Land Use Information.

An Analytical Data Bulletin focusing on regional land use changes from 1990 to 1995 and from 1970 to 1995 will be available from DVRPC in the near future. The Analytical Bulletin will detail the definitions and processes involved in land use classification and provide a more thorough examination of land use changes in the Delaware Valley over the past 25 years.

For more information on DVRPC's land use files, call the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission at (215) 592-1800.

Figure 1: DVRPC 28-County Data Service Area

APPENDIX: 1995 LAND USE CLASSIFICATION

The 1995 Land Use Categories are defined as follows:

Single-Family Detached units are identified including their lots where lot boundaries are evident.

• In rural areas, single family residential units will be mapped when there are three or more contiguous units.
• Lots will be shown where possible and estimated where no boundaries are evident.
• For this bulletin, mobile homes are classified as single family detached units.

Single-Family Attached units are identified including duplexes and row houses.

Multi-Family units are identified including apartments and group quarters.

• Non-residential uses of Manufacturing, Commercial, and Community Services are often hard to distinguish from aerial photography. These uses are not as often separated as they once were. The advent of flex-space and mixed-use zoning has allowed structures to be converted into multiple uses. In addition, Business/Office/Industrial Parks frequently contain many uses together in the same complex and often in the same building. Ground-level field surveys can better distinguish between these types of uses; however, those tools were not employed for this report.

Manufacturing includes the area devoted to fabrication and/or assembly of raw materials or components.

Transportation includes areas devoted to rail, air, marine, and highway transportation.

• Highways are included only when they are double land divided.
• For this bulletin, 25% of all residential land in all counties except Philadelphia was subtracted from the residential total and added to the transportation category, to account for local roads. In Philadelphia, 25% was subtracted from all classifications except military, mining, and water and added to the transportation category, to account for the increased density of the local road network.
• For this bulletin, parking is included in the transportation category, regardless of its attendant land use.

Communications and Utilities include:

• Power generation and substations
• Major transmission lines
• Radio, television, and microwave (including cellular telephone/PCS) towers when separate.
• Water Filtration and Storage (except reservoirs)
• Wastewater Treatment
• Landfills

Commercial includes:

• Retail
• Wholesale
• Personal and Professional Services
• Hotels and Motels

Community Services includes:

• Hospitals and Clinics
• Government Buildings (except military)
• Educational Facilities
• Places of Worship
• Cemeteries

Military includes:

• Air Bases
• Forts
• Naval Bases and Air Stations
• Coast Guard Bases
• National Guard Installations

Recreational Areas include:

• Parks
• Recreations sites (e.g., playgrounds) as interpreted
• Amusement parks
• Resorts and Camps
• Public Assembly
• Golf Courses

• The portion of recreations or cultural areas that can be identified on an aerial photograph will most likely not conform to the site boundary. Such information is derived from other sources.

Agricultural includes land devoted to crops, pastures, orchards, tree farms, or other agricultural uses. The farmstead and associated buildings are also agricultural. Single or double lot splitoffs with house are included in the agricultural classification.

Mining includes any extractive use, principally:

• Quarries
• Sand Pits

Wooded (forested) areas are determined by:

• Continuous canopy or solid tree cover, woodland, natural lands, marshes, and swamps.
• Hedgerows (windrows) will not be interpreted as wooded.
• Wooded areas associated with residences will not be interpreted as wooded.
• Wooded areas which are emerging from formerly agricultural fields are interpreted as wooded if, in the judgment of the interpreter, the wooded category dominates.

Vacant land is:

• Not clearly wooded
• Not agricultural
• Not developed
• Is cleared or unused and not tied to other uses.

Water areas include:

• Rivers, streams, lakes and ponds
• Water areas must have two definable boundaries. Single lines will not be used.
• Water areas are not divided into wetland categories since a variety of wetland definitions are being used by federal and state agencies and separate mapping is available for wetland areas.