• journal_title：Geology
• Contributor：J. Nicholas Van Driel
• Publisher：Geological Society of America
• Date：1978-
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.1130/0091-7613(1978)6<592:PUOGIB>2.0.CO;2
• journal_abbrev：Geology
• issn：0091-7613
• volume：6
• issue：10
• firstpage：592

A cooperative project to demonstrate the use of earth-science information in land-use planning was started by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Fairfax County, Virginia, Office of Comprehensive Planning in 1976. Environmental conditions related to planned-development housing in the Lehigh tract include unstable slopes, sand and gravel resources, flood-prone areas, vegetation, and artificial fill. Computer-composite mapping was used to analyze these conditions by combining maps of various land characteristics. This system may be used for review of development plans, long-range planning, and the production of “land capability” maps; it is particularly useful in single-site selection.