The goal of this report is to provide the communities within the boundaries of the Wausau Metropolitan Planning Organization (WMPO) a starting point to consider why, where, what, and how residential infill and redevelopment may benefit, be located, look like, and be encouraged in their community. The report briefly addresses the consequences of sprawl development placed on residents and local governments and examines why infill and redevelopment is a useful strategy to mitigate the environmental and fiscal costs of sprawl while providing benefits and new opportunities to community members. Additionally, the project provides a condensed examination of the spatial and demographic context within the WMPO to inform communities why they might want to consider exploring the opportunities of residential infill and redevelopment. While infill and redevelopment can be residential, commercial, or mixed-use, this report focuses on the potential of residential infill and redevelopment within the WMPO.
The project locates where residential infill and redevelopment could take place by conducting a GIS inventory and analysis that identifies underutilized privately owned parcels which are defined as being vacant or having low improvement value to land value ratios of 30% or less. Following the identification
of these parcels, further GIS analysis is conducted to calculate the buildable area per parcel by subtracting the total area of a parcel within various environmental constraints from the total area of a parcel within the sewer service area. Next, three overlay layers – walkability, major corridors, and Tax
Increment Financing Districts – are created in the GIS to better understand the locational dynamics of the identified parcels. By utilizing the buildable area per parcel in tandem with the overlay layers, the project infers what scale of residential infill or redevelopment could potentially be developed based on
the size and location of the identified parcels. The findings of the inventory and analysis are displayed using maps and tables and are discussed at the
WMPO scale. These maps, tables, and discussions inform where and what residential infill and redevelopment may take place given the unique context of each municipality in the WMPO.
Recommendations of strategies, tools, best practices, and future steps are briefly discussed to inform how residential infill and redevelopment might be successfully implemented through the WMPO.
UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141