ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes a reasonably straightforward method in which land-use and facility needs of the future may be estimated for a variety of scenarios. It provides a method to estimate the land-use and facility impacts of unanticipated development, such as a major planned development. If the landscape in question has limitations and the land-use estimations exceed land supply, for instance, one can change assumptions in the workbook to make second and subsequent rounds of estimates. Many counties are more influential in establishing land-use patterns than other forms of government because they provide road systems and often water and wastewater services. Subcounty applications could be stitched together and refined further to create an overall land-use and facility plan for the county as a whole. The book concludes with a call for planners to consider the future as a canvas yet to be sketched.
