This dataset depicts the percentage of housing units by the decade of
their construction, and the median value of a subset of the housing
units. This dataset was derived from official U.S. Census 2000 data
products processed by the Conservation Biology Institute. These
attributes are depicted at the Census Block-Group level, the finest
spatial scale for which the underlying metrics are available. Areas
with larger percentages of housing units constructed during 1990-2000
indicate areas that have experienced recent growth in residential
development. In particular, areas that have experienced growth outside
urban areas may be further evaluated for residential development in
close proximity to publicly-owned areas (e.g., National Forests) or
areas of high conservation value. The median value may be of interest
for prioritization of development of conservation areas on private
lands, given that high land acquisition costs can deter acquisition for
conservation purposes. However, higher median values outside urban
areas may indicate areas of high demand for residential development,
such as areas of high scenic or natural resource value (e.g., proximity
to public lands). This dataset can be masked using boundaries of
private versus public lands, such as can be extracted from the
Conservation Biology Institute's Protected Areas Database, to better
refine the spatial distribution of areas available for residential development.