Browsing by Author "Mixon, John"
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Item Environmental Analysis for Development Planning - Summary Report: Year One(National Science Foundation, Division of Research Applied to National Needs, 1974-06) Conant, Ralph W.; Bebout, John; Mixon, John; Rowe, Peter; Williams, DonIn June, 1973, the Southwest Center for Urban Research initiated a study of the problem of management of land and the natural environment in Chambers County, Texas, a sparsely populated rural area between the Houston-Galveston and Beaumont-Port Arthur metropolitan areas. The objective of this study was to fix upon ways and means for responsible governmental agencies (at all levels) and private groups to guide development so that all interested parties would benefit. We and our sponsors, the National Science Foundation-Division of Research Applied to National Needs, saw the study as an opportunity to develop a strategy for dealing with problems faced by many rural agricultural areas which happen to lie in the path of rapid urbanization and industrialization. In its larger concept, the study addressed a growing recognition in the nation that land and its natural appurtenances are a scarce and threatened resource, and that there is a national need for public and private policymakers to learn how to manage this resource in such a way as to maintain and enhance the quality of life throughout the nation.Item Environmental Analysis for Development Planning in Chambers County, Texas - Land Use Component(Southwest Center for Urban Research, 1973) Mixon, JohnAlthough many persons would contest the constitutionality of direct federal controls over the use of privately owned lands, it is likely that such control would be held constitutional by the Supreme Court. Through the delegated power to control commerce, Congress's power over private property is virtually unlimited. However, most federal programs have not operated by way of direct command. Instead, they have used the power of financial support to create helpful programs and to encourage states to direct their own activities in a manner which meets federal aims. Among the programs which have been thus implemented are those in housing, transportation, and community improvement. Within the past few years, federal emphasis in air and water pollution has shifted from encouragement to requirement. Enforcement of these laws has been delegated to a new Federal Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency. Although EPA carves out a role for those states which wish to keep their control positions in air and water pollution implementation, the states may not by their inaction, prevent effective measures from being taken. If the states do not act, then EPA will. The summary which follows covers major federal programs which affect land use, and indicates some of the influence which these programs may have on Chambers County.