HISTORIC TRENDS IN LAND SUBDIVISION ACTIVITY IN SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN

THE REGION IN QUESTION COMPRISES SEVEN COUNTIES NORTH OF THE ILLINOIS LINE AND WEST OF THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORE. IT CONTAINS 153 GOVERNMENTAL UNITS, INCLUDING MILWAUKEE, THE 12TH LARGEST CITY IN THE U. S., AND THREE CONTIGUOUS SMSA'S. FROM 1840 TO 1940 GROWTH OCCURED CHIEFLY IN CONCENTRIC PATTERNS AROUND URBAN CENTERS. BETWEEN 1940 AND 1950 THIS PATTERN CONTINUED, BUT FINGERS OF GROWTH APPEARED ALONG MAJOR HIGHWAY ROUTES, MAJOR STREAM VALLEYS, AND THE LAKE MICHIGAN SHORELINE. BETWEEN 1950 AND 1970 THE AMOUNT OF RURAL LAND CONVERTED TO URBAN USE INCREASED BY 216%, POPULATION INCREASED BY 42%, AND POPULATION DENSITY DECLINED BY 53%. THE PRESENT STUDY HAD THE AIMS OF DETERMINING THE TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF SUBDIVISION ACTIVITY IN THE REGION DURING THE PERIODS 1920--1956 AND 1957--1969 TO ASSESS THE RELATION TO SANITARY SEWERAGE SERVICE; AND OF EVALUATING CHANGES IN SUBDIVISION DESIGN (SUBDIVISION SIZE, LOT SIZE, STREET MILEAGE, AND ARRANGEMENT OF HOUSES). IT WAS FOUND THAT MORE THAN HALF OF THE ACREAGE PLATTED DURING THE 50 YEARS WAS RECORDED SINCE 1950, BUT ONLY 35% OF THE LOTS WERE CREATED SINCE THEN; TYPICAL LOT SIZE INCREASED FROM 5100 SQ FT IN THE 1920'S TO 15,500 IN THE 1960'S. SUBDIVISION SIZE DECREASED FROM AN AVERAGE OF 114 UNITS TO 35. GRID-STYLE SUBDIVISIONS ACCOUNT FOR 75% OF TOTAL RECORDED ACREAGE, CURVILINEAR FOR ALMOST 25%, AND CLUSTER FOR LESS THAN 1%. OF THE SUBDIVISIONS PLATTED SINCE 1956, MORE THAN A QUARTER DID NOT HOOK INTO PUBLIC SANITARY SEWERAGE FACILITIES; NEARLY 15% WERE LOCATED IN QUARTER SECTIONS WITHIN WHICH 50--100% OF THE AREA WAS COVERED BY SOILS HAVING SEVERE OR VERY SEVERE LIMITATIONS FOR SUCH RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1973/422/422-001.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Bauer, Kurt W
• Conference:
  • 51st Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1972-1-17 to 1972-1-21
• Publication Date: 1973

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: pp 1-9
• Monograph Title: Land use and transportation planning
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 422
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Density; History; Land subdivision; Land use; Location; Population; Residential areas; Residential location; Sewerage; Urban areas
• Geographic Terms: Wisconsin
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; History; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00240754
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 7 1973 12:00AM