Visualizing “Build-Out” in the Upper Delaware River Corridor
Envisioning the future of the Upper Delaware River Corridor
Introduction to the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Corridor
For over forty years, Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River has been a popular outdoor recreational venue for hundreds of thousands of people in one of America's most densely populated regions. The river corridor follows the border between New York and Pennsylvania for around 70 miles and spans across five different counties in these two states. Managed in partnership with the Upper Delware Council , this National Park Service unit preserves the “outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural … and other similar resource values that qualified Upper Delaware for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.” This stretch of the Delaware River provides an amazing opportunity for visitors to enjoy outdoor recreation and take in the region’s rich history. Maintaining the rural and wild character of this region is important for regional economic development that relies on outdoor recreation and the unique sense of place of this landscape.
This project, developed by the National Parks Conservation Association and Shippensburg University’s Center for Land Use and Sustainability , aims to look at current development and the potential for future development in the river corridor. Zoning has a major impact on how future development will occur, so this study also looks specifically at the the town of Tusten in New York and Lackawaxen Township in Pennsylvania. For these two municipalities, 3D visualizations have been created to show what the Upper Delaware River Corridor would look like if they were built out according to current zoning regulations.
A regional view of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Corridor
The map above shows a regional view of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Corridor. Included above are the counties of Delaware and Sullivan in New York, as well as Wayne and Pike Counties in Pennsylvania. The Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River Corridor is shown in blue. The places of focus in this project, the town of Tusten and Lackawaxen Township, are located in Sullivan County, NY and Pike County, PA respectively.
Current Land Use
The current land use for the region gives a snapshot of what the landscape looks like today. The map on the right shows the current land use for four counties across the Upper Delaware River Corridor. On a broad scale, the majority of current land cover is deciduous or mixed forest and hay or pastures. Areas displayed in red represent currently developed zones.Land use data comes from the US Geological Survey's National Land Cover Data.
Lackawaxen Township: Current Land Use
The map on the right shows the current land use in Lackawaxen Township, PA. Each color seen on the map corresponds with a different type of current land cover or use (for example, agricultural uses are in shades of yellow, forested uses are in shades of green, developed uses are in shades of red). The river corridor is outlined in dark blue.
Currently, Lackawaxen Township is dominated by deciduous forest. Within Lackawaxen Township, only a small portion of land is currently developed. When zoning is considered, there is potential for development across the township.
Town of Tusten: Current Land Use
In this map, the land cover or use for the town of Tusten, NY is displayed. Similar to Lackawaxen Township, a large portion of the town of Tusten remains undeveloped, with the landscape dominated by forest.
Like Lackawaxen Township, the town of Tusten is largely undeveloped currently. With the exception of Narrowsburg in the northwest, Tusten remains a largely rural town.
A Changing Landscape
The following series of maps show the change in land use from 2001 to 2019 across the Upper Delaware River Corrdior. On these maps, each color represents a different type of land change (for example, urban change, forest change, agricultural change). These maps are from the US Geological Survey's NLCD Change Index .
Throughout the counties of the Upper Delaware River Corridor, areas that did not see land change are represented in dark green. This map shows only that change has occurred between 2001 and 2019. The most popular type of change in the region was forest change (change from or to forest), shown in light green. Urban change (change to or from urban) can be seen in pink.
Lackawaxen Township: Land Cover Change (2001-2019)
The map on the left shows land cover change in Lackawaxen Township from 2001-2019. In the area of Westcolang Park, urban change can be seen in pink. Most of this change indicates new development. In addition, patches of forest change have occured within the township.
Town of Tusten: Land Cover Change (2001-2019)
Land Cover Change for the Town of Tusten is displayed on the map to the left. Overall, the Town of Tusten did not see a great amount of land cover change from 2001-2019.
Small shifts in forest and water changes can be seen throughout the town, but a significant amount of urban change is not present.
Potential for Future Development
The following series of maps display a current estimation of growth pressure in the Upper Delaware River Corridor. These maps are from a 2011 study , and incorporate proximity to the New York metropolitan area, areas of high population density, proximity to major roads and intersections, and engineering limitations for soils to identify the areas most likely to experience development (shades of red) or least likely to experience development (shades of green).
While many parts of this regions has not yet experienced much development pressure, these maps of development pressure indicate that there is development potential in the river corridor and in the broader region. The map on the left shows current pressures of growth and development for the counties of Pike and Sullivan.
Lackawaxen Township: Current Development Pressure
On the left, a map of Lackawaxen Township can be seen. This map shows the current growth pressure for Lackawaxen Township.
Across Lackawaxen Township, a relatively low level of growth pressure can be seen. This is in contrast to the south of Pike County, where a higher level of development attraction is seen.
Town of Tusten: Current Development Pressure
Similar to the map above, the current growth model for the Town of Tusten can be seen on the left. The map of Tutsen shows a higher growth potential than that of Lackawaxen Township.
Similar to Lackawaxen Township and Pike County, PA, the town of Tusten has a lower value of development attraction when compared to the rest of Sullivan County, NY.
Visualizing "Build Out" in 3D
Importance of Zoning in future "Build Out"
Zoning ultimately determines how land will be developed and used. In developing a 3D projection of build out, current zoning plays a key role in predicting where developement will occur in the future. Below are the current zoning maps for Lackawaxen and Tusten.
Lackawaxen Township: Zoning Map
The map on the right displays the current Zoning for Lackawaxen Township. Each color on the map corresponds with a different type of zoned district.
Looking at the zoning map for Lackawaxen, a large portion of the township is zoned as a "rural district," shown in green. In addition, areas in yellow are designated as "low density residential districts," areas in red are "neighborhood development districts," and areas in purple are "recreational vehicle park districts."
Town of Tusten: Zoning Map
On the right, the zoning map for the Town of Tusten is displayed. This map utilizes a similar color representation as the Lackawaxen Zoning Map above.
For Tusten, a large portion of the town is currently zoned as "low density residential," shown in yellow. Represented in green are areas zoned as "rural residential," and areas in red are "commerical" zones.
3D Scenario of current & future "Build Out" in Lackawaxen Township
UPDE Visualization Hypothetical Development - Lackawaxen (pilot)
The two scenarios above show the hypothetical development and situation as of 2019 (date of LiDAR source) in Lackawaxen Township. The distribution of buildings in the hypothetical scenario follows the zoning ordinances for Lackawaxen Township with respect to lot size, building height, and setbacks. By clicking on the scenario, you can move around and zoom in on the 3D projection to see what "build out" could look like in Lackawaxen Township.
3D Scenario of future "Build Out" in the Town of Tusten
UPDE Visualization Hypothetical Development - Tusten
The two scenarios above show two different 3D models of the town of Tusten. On the left, a 3D model of Tusten from 2007-2019 is shown, this range in years comes from the availability of data. On the right, the 3D model shows the hypothetical development of "build out" in Tusten. Similar to the 3D model above, this hypothetical situation follow the zoning ordinance for the town of Tusten.
