Recreation, tourism development, and watershed protection in the Dan River Basin

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  • February 28, 2019
Creator
  • Culler, Megan Elaine
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
Abstract
  • Environmental regulations can be seen as burdens or impediments to economic development. My research aims to determine whether cities might be more willing to implement environmental protections and remediation when these activities are seen as contributing to economic development, improvements to the city's image, or higher standards of living for residents. Specifically, this project examines whether recreation and tourism development motivate cities to protect water quality. I attempted to answer this question through interviews with city government officials in Danville, VA, Martinsville, VA, Eden, NC, and Reidsville, NC, the four largest cities in the Dan River Basin. This research attempts to address the broader question, what motivates cities and towns to make the water quality of rivers and streams a priority? If cities view rivers as amenities, are they more motivated to protect them? Conversely, if they view watershed protection as a burden, are they likely to only do the minimum that is required by state or federal regulations? The following case studies look at factors that have hindered or encouraged creating and implementing policies for protecting water in these four cities, and more specifically how recreation and tourism have influenced such policies. Exploring what motivates cities to protect water quality could provide insight into potential ways to balance economic development with environmental protections, and ways to motivate cities to go above and beyond the minimum required of them by the EPA and state agencies such as the North Carolina Division of Water Quality and the Virginia Division of Environmental Quality. Identifying the factors that motivate cities to improve water quality in nearby rivers and streams could be useful in making the case for implementing BMPs, building greenbelts along rivers, encouraging the development of non-polluting industries, or carrying out other activities to prevent water pollution. Even when the cost of water quality protections seems prohibitive, cities might be more willing to accept the costs if they believe they might experience economic gains as a result of improved amenity or recreational values. The development of various types of recreation and tourism in this area provided an opportunity to test whether outdoor recreation stimulates environmental protection. Because these four cities have focused to greater or lesser extents on the Dan River and other rivers and lakes as a source of recreation, it was possible to compare and contrast them to observe whether their environmental policies and programs differ based on their tourism and recreation goals.
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Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • BenDor, Todd
Degree
  • Master of City and Regional Planning
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language
Location
  • Eden, North Carolina, United States
  • Reidsville, North Carolina, United States
  • Dan River, Virginia, United States
  • Danville, Virginia, United States
  • Martinsville, Virginia, United States
Extent
  • 39 p.
Access right
  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • December 10, 2010

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