The Rhode Island Landscape Inventory

What is it?

Fence and salt marsh on the East Bay Bike Path, East Providence, RI. October, 2000

 

The Rhode Island Landscape Inventory is a survey conducted in 1990 by planners in the DEM Department of Planning and Development to define and evaluate the Rhode Island landscape. The survey (based almost exclusively on the Massachusetts Landscape Inventory, 1982) attempts to establish how much land in Rhode Island should be developed, which areas should be identified for carefully planned development, and which areas should be identified for protection (where no development is allowed). See History of Scenic Landscape Inventories for more information on the development of this inventory.

Why does the state need it?

The Rhode Island Landscape Inventory (RILI) "provides individual towns and cities with a comprehensive inventory and evaluation of scenic resources throughout the state. This will allow different municipalities to coordinate their land preservation and conservation efforts." In other words, the RILI provides information to towns concerning their uniquely significant scenic areas, the size and location of each area, and an analysis of important scenic characteristics.

How does the state preserve such lands?

In order to conserve significant scenic areas, the state must engage in the following:

  1. Pinpoint areas for acquisition and/or protection based on scenic quality.
  2. Interface with other state landscape surveys and land preservation programs to provide a more comprehensive evaluation methodology.
  3. Direct development away from critically scenic or culturally important areas towards less sensitive landscapes.
  4. Provide the visual criteria for municipal zoning and subdivision regulations so that these regulations may allow development which is more closely aligned towards the vernacular New England landscape.
  5. Identify areas of tourist potential.
  6. Assist in planning and management of road improvements and the preservation of scenic roadways.
  7. Assist the State Historic Preservation Commission in the identification and preservation of cultural and historic landscapes.
  8. Heighten awareness of scenic public open spaces for planning officials as well as the general public.

How is Rhode Island's landscape categorized?

Rhode Island's landscape includes second growth forests, strikingly varied coastal features, agricultural lands, significant water bodies (natural and man-made lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, wetlands), fishing ports, rural farmsteads, coastal resort towns, small urban mill villages, "colonial" town commons, farmlands edged with stone walls, and many others. The entire state was divided into the following four main areas: Interior Upland, Narragansett Lowland, Narragansett Bay Area, and Salt Pond/Coastal Plain.

Planners placed each landscape into one of three broad categories:

 

Salt marsh, East Bay Bike Path, East Providence, RI. October, 2000

 

Physiogeographic Landscape (elements in the landscape which are perceived solely for their natural scenic beauty) includes land form (topography, geology, glacial features), land cover (vegetation), coastal features, and water features (rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, wetlands, estuaries).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Created Landscape (elements of landscape that have been used, shaped, or modified over time by human activity, occupancy, or intervention as part of an evolving cultural and historical process in the natural use and development of the land) includes land patterns, built fabric, containment, and historic interest.
Farm, Kingston, RI. October, 2000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sailing by Rose Island and Newport Bridge. Photograph by Richard Benjamin

 

Visual Landscape (purely visual elements to which humans relate in viewing a total landscape picture) includes narrow vistas, panoramas, and how capable a particular landscape is of absorbing potential change or development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How were the landscapes rated?

The planners applied one of three ratings to the scenic value of a certain area: Distinctive, Noteworthy, or Common. Distinctive landscapes have the highest visual appeal, with a lot of variety in form, line, color and texture. Noteworthy landscapes are also scenic, but of a lesser visual quality. Common landscapes include the remainder of Rhode Island's landscapes. See the Scenic Land GIS map for a visual portrayal of Rhode Island's scenic land.

What was found?

Planners in the DEM Department of Planning and Development examined all land in the state, even land already protected. They first determined what category each area belonged in, and then rated each landscape as distinctive, noteworthy, or common. The planners found that Rhode Island's Distinctive landscapes comprise 15% of its total land area. Noteworthy and Distinctive landscapes together take up 26%. In addition:

 

Go to Rhode Island Farms and Rural Character.

(See Inconsistencies and Data Gaps, and Future Work.)

Rural Character Main/Open Space Main/RI Indicators