Protected Open Space Intersected with Scenic Areas

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Why is land protected in Rhode Island? One hypothesis is the simple fact that people like to keep their land rural and undeveloped, looking scenic and "natural." Towns want to maintain their rural character, and people want to live in rural towns. But as is shown by this GIS coverage (the color yellow marks the lands where scenic areas and protected open space overlap), much of Rhode Island's preserved land does not overlap with its "scenic" areas ("scenic" here is defined as "noteworthy" or "distinct" landscapes, according to the Rhode Island Landscape Inventory, and corresponds to what we are calling "rural character"). Noteworthy and Distinctive landscapes cover 26% of Rhode Island's total land area, or 107,391 acres. 25,906 acres of overlap exist between scenic areas and protected open space (according to this map, 120,462 acres protected open space exist. See Data Gaps and Inconsistencies for more information on this data.), which is 24% total scenic area and 22% total protected open space. Thus, much of the land in Rhode Island is preserved for reasons other than simple rural character or scenic quality. Why then does Rhode Island preserve land? Habitat preservation or recreation use are possible alternatives.

Go to Role of Rural Character.