Spatially and socially segmenting private landowner motivations, properties, and management: A typology for the wildland urban interface

Abstract

Throughout North America, rapid exurban development is increasing the spatial extent and population density of the wildland urban interface (WUI), exacerbating problems of wildfire risk and biodiversity loss. To address these issues, policy and planning tools need to be targeted toward different types of WUI landowners in the different types of landscape locations they occupy. We developed a typology of WUI landowners in the Willamette Valley foothills of Oregon, USA. We used market segmentation techniques on mail survey data (n=939) to develop a typology of four types of WUI landowners in the Willamette Valley foothills of Oregon, USA. We identify differences in each type's land management strategies and property characteristics and use commonly available GIS data to project where different landowner types are likely to occur in the landscape. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of social and spatial heterogeneity in the WUI for strategically targeted policy and planning efforts intended to manage wildfire risk and promote ecological restoration.