Unit 3: AOS 2 - Land Use Change

Question 1

Land Use Definition

Answer 1

• Land use refers to the human assigned purposes to the land. This can be to produce change or maintain it and is often determined by land cover hence land use and cover are strongly interconnected

Question 2

Land Use Types

Answer 2

• Cultivated land - eg. Yarra Valley
• Recreational area - eg. Heritage Golf Course
• Urban areas - eg. Ringwood
• Mining areas - eg. LaTrove Valley
• Transport routes - eg. Eastern Freeway
• Nature protection areas - eg. Grampians

Question 3

Land Use Policies

The Urban Growth Boundary (UGB)

Answer 3

• Designed to contain urban sprawl by separating rural and agricultural land from urban development
• Minister for Planning determines the final location
• Creates a more compact city
• Ensures protection of Green Wedges

Question 4

Land Use Policies

Green Wedge

Answer 4

• Non-urban region outside the UGB
• 12 green wedges across 17 municipalities
• They are a mix of agriculture and low density activities which include;
  
  • Airports
  • Water treatment facilities
  • Quarries
  • Cultural heritage sites
  • Water catchments
  • Biodiversity conservation areas
• ⅓ of green wedges are public land - eg. National parks
• They provide thousands of jobs in agriculture, conservation, and tourism
• Significant conservation and cultural heritage sites

Question 5

Land Use Policies

Peri-urban Regions

Answer 5

• Located on urban fringe
• Responsible for 25% of Australia’s agricultural product
• Contain 50% of biodiversity
• 59 per cent of the state’s vegetable production

Question 6

Sustainable Land Use Development Strategies

Answer 6

• Mixed land use
  
  • Recreational, commercial and residential areas
• Density
  
  • Low to medium density housing should have medium to high density transport routes
• Connectivity
  
  • Many transport options
• High quality public realm
  
  • Safe/ protected shared spaces and frontages
• Local character
  
  • Maintenance of local charm
• Adaptability
  
  • The ability to accept change while maintaining functionality

Question 7

Fieldwork

Location

Answer 7

• Yering Meadows
• 30km north-east of Melbourne
• Within Yarra Ranges Council
• 10km north-east of Ringwood GC
• Yarra River is 1km north of property

Question 8

Fieldwork

Reasons

Answer 8

• Social
  
  • UGB - proximity as 77% of Victorias pop live within
• Economic
  
  • 2003 - 120 acre Croydon GC sold to Australand (housing developer) for $35 mill making $30 mill profit
    
    • Yering only cost $5mill
• Political
  
  • 2006 - Yering Meadows bought took 3 years due to council and VCAT initially rejecting proposals due to green wedge prohibiting non-agricultural use
    
    • Added Walnut plantation
    • Only relocated in 2008 - 5 years since cold croydon and 2 since buying Yering
• Environmental
  
  • Topography - flats and ridges needed for landing areas
  • Proximity to river - require a water source

Question 9

Fieldwork

Impacts

Answer 9

• Social
  
  • The Range Housing Estate built in croydon provided 73 properties
  • GC employs 7 or 8 - can employ up to 13
  • Taking arable land for GC - only 6% of Australia is arable
• Economic
  
  • Attracts tourists
  • $1.3 mill spent on grass and $300,000 spent on electricity (at Croydon this was only $80 000) and water is substantially more expensive
  • Finished being built in 2010
  • Club spent $30 mill on building GC sold for $7.5 mill in 2017 to an overseas buyer due to $3.5 mill debt
  • Walnut plantation is neglected - not economically viable and in violation of VCAT ruling
• Environment
  
  • 3-4 thousand trees planted plus walnut plantation - increased bird life
  • 100mL of water per year for grass - being reduced however from 150mL
  • GC requires 20 different chemicals including glyphosate

Question 10

Fieldwork

Research Question/ Hypothesis

Answer 10

• Research Question
  
  • To what extent has the change in land use of Yering Meadows been influenced by economic, social and/or environmental factors? What are the major impacts of this land use change?
• Hypothesis
  
  • Moved due to economic factors
  • Impact - environment
• Conclusion
  
  • Moved due to economic factors - influenced by politics and social
  • Impacts - Economic after 7 years the GC had to be sold, due to the acquired debt of $3.5 mill

Question 11

Fieldwork

Spatial Technology

Answer 11

• Google earth pro - satellite imagery
  
  • GIS is a form of geospatial technology in which spatial data is organised in layers using an interactive digital map. This allows spatial comparison between data sets and analysis of spatial distributions and associations
  • Google Earth pro allows visualization, assessment, overlay, and creation of geospatial data due to a collation of aerial, satellite and ground level imagery which provide maps, 3D images and 360 street view footage.
  • Secondary source
  • Transects - simplified land use change format
    
    • 2005 and 2022
  • Measure distances
    
    • Large-scale overview - rather than small-scale fieldwork