Evaluation of Wilderness in a Spatial Context

Abstract

ABSTRACT Spatial scarcities are integral to basic models that account for the organization of land use, including wilderness. The purpose of this paper is to consider the evaluation of wilderness from the perspective of spatial scarcity. Spatial scarcity usually can be taken as relative depending upon scale of analysis. At the more local scale, the relative scarcities of competing land uses are relevant to wilderness evaluation while at larger national and global scales scarcities in certain wilderness qualities may be more important. The paper begins with a brief review of existing approaches to evaluating wilderness and lays out an explicitly spatial approach to the problem. Then, local scale evaluation is considered in the context of von Thunen types of land use transition models which concern relative scarcity payments, or rents. The paper also takes up larger geographic scales and uses the concept of spatial scarcity in linking the hedonic and travel cost models of wilderness evaluation with central place theory in the consideration of wilderness potential.