Exurban Policy and Development in Stillwater, Oklahoma

Abstract

The main thrust of this study is two-fold. One is to test a model which is designed to indicate by areal unit the relative fitness and attractiveness of the policy environment for subdivision-type developments on the rural-urban fringe--' exurbia'. The Policy Environment Index is the name given the value arrived at by the workings of the model. It is conceivable that each areal unit in the study area could have been given a different Policy Environment Index value. Since the overall policy environment varies over space, the second major thrust of the study is to try and establish if linear relationships exist between any of the development-types and the Policy Environment Index. The motivating factor in developing this model was my conviction that the use of such an index is a needed innovation in policy-oriented studies. The traditional descriptive, lengthy discussions which characterize policy studies need to be integrated into a more streamlined, scientific and systematic approach. Use of an index such as used in this study aids in depicting and conceptualizing the spatial variations in the cumulative effects of many policies. This goal would be difficult to achieve in any real sense by the use of "mountains" of maps and text to explain what has been easily and efficiently depicted by the use of the Policy Environment Index.