Comparison of selection methods for easement purchase in Baltimore County
| Author(s) | Tang, Xing | |
| Date Accessioned | 2011-03-12T03:30:52Z | |
| Date Available | 2011-03-12T03:30:52Z | |
| Publication Date | 2010 | |
| Abstract | Using data for 118 land parcels that were candidates for easement purchase by various agricultural land conservation programs in Baltimore County from 2007 to 2009, this study compares land selection optimization methods with respect to their efficiency in acquiring conservation benefits and acres within stated budget levels. Specifically, it compares the traditional benefit-targeted method (BT), the cost-effectiveness analysis method (CEA) currently applied by Baltimore County, and two binary integer programming models (BIP-SEQ and BIP-SIM). The BT, CEA, and BIP-SEQ are sequential methods that deal with budgets of multiple programs sequentially. However, since programs differ in how they appraise costs and set criteria for candidate parcels, only BIP-SIM, also known as a multiple-knapsack model in operations research, deals with budgets of multiple programs simultaneously. This study introduces BIP-SIM to the realm of land conservation for the first time to determine whether its ability to work with multiple budgets simultaneously can improve the cost-efficiency of purchasing decisions. The results of this analysis confirm that cost-efficiency increases when moving from BT to CEA, CEA to BIP-SEQ, and BIP-SEQ to BIP-SIM. | en_US |
| Advisor | Messer, Kent | |
| Degree | M.S. | |
| Department | University of Delaware, Department of Food and Resource Economics | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/5840 | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Servitudes -- Maryland -- Baltimore County | |
| dc.subject.lcsh | Conservation easements -- Maryland -- Baltimore County | |
| Title | Comparison of selection methods for easement purchase in Baltimore County | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |