Conservation value of clustered housing developments

Traditionally, exurban lands in Colorado have been subdivided into a grid of parcels ranging from 2 to 16 ha. From an ecological perspective, this dispersed pattern of development effectively maximizes the individual influence of each home on the land. Clustered housing developments, designed to maximize open space, are assumed to benefit plant and wildlife communities of conservation interest. They have become a popular alternative for rural development despite the lack of empirical evidence demonstrating their conservation benefits. To better inform rural land-use planning, we evaluated clustered housing developments by comparing their spatial pattern with that of dispersed housing developments and by comparing their conservation value with that of both dispersed housing developments and undeveloped areas in Boulder County, Colorado. We used four indicators to assess conservation value: (1) densities of songbirds, (2) nest density and survival of ground-nesting birds, (3) presence of mammals, and (4) percent cover and proportion of native and non-native plant species. Clustered and dispersed housing developments did not differ on the majority of variables we examined. Both types of housing development had significantly higher densities of non-native and human-commensal species and significantly lower densities of native and human-sensitive species than undeveloped areas. More rigorous ecological guidelines and planning on a regional scale may help create clustered developments with higher conservation value.