Disclaimer: This document has been reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and approved 

for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation of their use. 
EPA/625/R-02/016 

November 2002 

Urban Sprawl Modeling, Air Quality


Monitoring, And Risk Communication:


The Northeast Ohio Project


United States Environmental Protection Agency


Office of Research and Development


National Risk Management Research Laboratory


Cincinnati, OH 45268


250% Recycled/Recyclable 

Printed with vegetable-based ink on 

paper that contains a minimum of 

50% post-consumer fiber content 

processed chlorine free 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Dr. Dan Petersen, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Risk Management 

Research Laboratory, served as principal author of this handbook. Co-authors included Linda 

Stein, Rachel Kaufman, and Mary Lalley of Eastern Research Group, Inc., an EPA contractor. EPA 

would like to thank the following people for their input during the development of this handbook: 

Tom Brody, U.S. EPA Region 5 

William Davis, Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency 

Stephen Goranson, U.S. EPA Region 5 

MaryAnn Lafaire, U.S. EPA Region 5 

Jay Lee, Kent State University 

Loretta Lehrman, U.S. EPA Region 5 

Lyn Luttner, U.S. EPA Region 5 

Adam Zeller, Earth Day Coalition 
CONTENTS

page 

List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v


List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi


List of Tables
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v 

CHAPTER 1 URBAN SPRAWL MODELING, AIR QUALITY MONITORING, AND 


RISK COMMUNICATION: THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT . . . . . . . . . 1-1


1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1


1.2 How To Use This Handbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1


1.2.1 Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2


1.2.2 Frequently Asked Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2


CHAPTER 2 THE NORTHEAST OHIO URBAN SPRAWL MODELING


PROJECT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1


2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1


2.2 What Is Urban Sprawl and How Does It Affect Communities? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1


2.3 What Is Urban Growth Modeling and How Can It Be Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2


2.4 How Can an Urban Growth Model Be Developed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2


2.4.1 Using GIS in Urban Growth Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3


2.5 How the Northeast Ohio Urban Growth Model Was Developed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4


2.5.1 The Regional Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4


2.5.2 The Sub-Regional Case Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5


2.5.3 The Urban Growth Simulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10


2.5.4 How Were Data for the Urban Sprawl Modeling Project


Gathered and Managed?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14 


2.5.5 How Are Urban Growth Modeling Data Communicated


to the Public? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14


2.5.6 What Lessons Were Learned in the Northeast Ohio


Urban Sprawl Modeling Project? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16 


CHAPTER 3 THE NORTHEAST OHIO AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROJECT. . . . . . 3-1


3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1


3.1.1 What Is Time-Relevant Air Quality Monitoring?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1


3.1.2 The EPA AirNow Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1


3.1.3 Overview of Air Quality Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1


3.2 Air Quality Information Available From the Northeast Ohio Project . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2


3.3 How Are Air Quality Data Managed?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2


3.3.1 Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2


iii

page 

3.3.2 Data Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4


3.3.3 Data Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4


3.3.4 Hardware and Software Used by NEOAIR To Operate Its Air


Quality Monitoring Web Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5


3.4	 How Are the Northeast Ohio Project’s Air Quality Data Communicated


to the Public? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6


3.4.1 How Does the Public Access Information


on the NEOAIR Web Site? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6


3.4.2 How Does the NEOAIR Web Site Display


Time-Relevant Data?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7


3.4.3 How Does the NEOAIR Web Site Display Historical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7


3.4.4 Is Air Quality Information Communicated in Ways Other Than


the NEOAIR Web Site? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7


3.5 Lessons Learned in the Northeast Ohio Air Quality Monitoring Project . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7


CHAPTER 4 THE NORTHEAST OHIO COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1


4.1 The Northeast Ohio Communications Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1


4.2 What Does the Target Audience Need To Know?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1


4.3 Components of the Northeast Ohio Project’s Outreach Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2


4.3.1 How Does the Northeast Ohio Project Communicate


Air Quality Information and Issues to the Public?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3


4.3.2 How Does the Northeast Ohio Project Communicate


Urban Growth Modeling to the Public? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4


4.3.3 The Northeast Ohio Project’s Media Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5


4.3.4 What Promotional Materials Were Created, and How Were


They Distributed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6


4.4 Measuring the Success of the Outreach Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7


4.5 Lessons Learned in the Northeast Ohio Communications Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7


4.5.1 Diverse Membership Helps Create an Effective Organizational


Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7


4.5.2 Developing Educational Materials on Innovative Topics Like


Urban Sprawl Is Challenging but Worthwhile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7


4.5.3 Develop Long-Term Relationships With Partner Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8


4.5.4 Consider Developing Outreach Materials in Multiple


Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8


CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1


APPENDIX A Project Survey of Northeast Ohio Residents 

iv 
LIST OF FIGURES

figure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 

2-1 Regional case study simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4 

2-2 Procedures and algorithms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6 

2-3 Continuous growth model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7 

2-4 Managed growth (environmental protection) model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8 

2-5 Controlled growth model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9 

2-6a Northeast Ohio Urban Growth Indicator Simulator workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11 

2-6b Sample simulation with no growth management strategies applied 

(for Boston Heights, Summit County, Ohio) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12 

2-6c Sample simulation with “Use Growth Boundary/Growth Center” and “Avoid 

Critical Natural Areas (CNA)” applied (for Boston Heights, Summit County, Ohio) . . . . . 2-13 

2-7 EMPACT: Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio Web site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15 

3-1 Northeast Ohio ozone levels, hourly average, stationary map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2 

3-2 Example of data available in table format from the Northeast Ohio Project Web site . . . . . . 3-3 

3-3 Historical ozone data (graph format) for the Northeast Ohio Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 

3-4 Historical ozone data (table format) for the Northeast Ohio Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3 

3-5 Data flow for the data retrieval module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4 

3-6 Web page flow chart for NEOAIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 

3-7 Example of NEOAIR Web site “static” page of general air pollution information . . . . . . . . . 3-6 

4-1 Medical brochure developed by the Northeast Ohio Communications Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 

4-2 The Northeast Ohio Project’s air quality handbook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4 

4-3 Bus board displayed on Cleveland-Akron transit authority buses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5 

4-4 Logo developed for the Northeast Ohio Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6 

4-5 The Northeast Ohio Project’s Abee mascot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6 

LIST OF TABLES 

page 

3-1 Types of Information Included in the NEOAIR Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 

3-2 NEOAIR Web Site Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5 

4-1 Outreach Materials Developed by the Northeast Ohio Project’s 

Communications Workgroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 

v 
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

CNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . critical natural areas 

CO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . carbon monoxide 

EDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earth Day Coalition 

EMPACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking 

EPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

GIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . geographic information system 

IIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Microsoft Internet Information Services 

NAAQS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

NAMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . national air monitoring stations 

NEOAIR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Northeast Ohio Air Quality Online 

NEOEDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Northeast Ohio Environmental Data Exchange Networks 

NO2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nitrogen dioxide 

PAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . photochemical assessment monitoring stations 

PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . particulate matter 

PSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . public service announcement 

SLAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . state and local air monitoring stations 

SO2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sulfur dioxide 

VOC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . volatile organic compound 

vi 
1 Urban Sprawl Modeling, Air Quality

Monitoring, and Risk Communication: 

The Northeast Ohio Project 

1.1 INTRODUCTION 

Communicating environmental and health risks to the public has increasingly become a responsibility of 

local and state officials and private groups involved in environmental monitoring. People have come to 

expect access to more information about local air quality, for example, and advances in environmental 

monitoring and computer technology (such as the Internet) have made timely—sometimes daily—communication of environmental conditions possible. 

One program that addresses these new expectations and options is the Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl 

Modeling, Air Quality Monitoring, and Communications Project (hereafter called the Northeast Ohio 

Project). The Project provides local environmental and health information useful to residents, local officials, community planners, and others in a 15-county region in northeast Ohio that includes the greater 

Cleveland metropolitan area. Focus groups consisting of staff from state and local government agencies and 

representatives of neighborhood, civic, religious, academic, development, banking, business, and environmental groups had previously identified urban sprawl and environmental quality as the top regional 

problems. The Northeast Ohio Project addresses the environmental impacts posed by urban sprawl (the 

haphazard spreading of low-density development beyond a city’s boundaries), provides near-real-time data 

on air quality as it affects individual and public health, and conducts an extensive community outreach 

program on sprawl and air quality issues. 

The Northeast Ohio Project was part of EPA’s 1996 to 2002 Environmental Monitoring for Public Access 

and Community Tracking (EMPACT) Program, which helped communities provide the public with timerelevant environmental and associated health risk information. Local governments involved in the program 

identify and use effective methods to collect, manage, and distribute environmental health information in a 

timely manner to the public. Handbooks such as this one then describe the experiences of municipalities 

that have successfully accomplished these data collection and communication objectives so that other communitites can learn from these projects. 

1.2 HOW TO USE THIS HANDBOOK 

This handbook highlights the key components of the Northeast Ohio Project. Local officials and community groups from other municipalities can use this information as guidance for establishing or expanding 

their own environmental programs; residents of northeast Ohio can use this handbook to learn about and 

access the Project’s materials on urban sprawl and air quality in their area. The handbook is organized as 

described below. 

This handbook covers the three areas addressed by the Northeast Ohio Project: 

• Urban sprawl modeling (Chapter 2). Urban sprawl has been associated with a number of 

negative community impacts, including reduced air and water quality, traffic congestion, loss 

of productive agricultural areas and natural habitat, and increased costs for new services such as 

schools and water treatment systems. The Northeast Ohio Project developed case studies and models, 

available through the Internet, so that residents and local officials can simulate potential future development and better understand the implications of different growth management policies and 

programs. The modeling results can be used for more comprehensive land-use planning efforts. In 

addition to describing the case studies and models, Chapter 2 explains how the Project developed and 

managed the models and its ecological and urban sprawl database and Web site. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling 1-1
• Air quality monitoring (Chapter 3). Through a Web site, the Project provides the public with regional 

near-real-time and historical data on levels of ozone and other pollutants. This information helps people take appropriate actions to protect their health and the environment when air quality is poor. This 

chapter describes the general process of air quality monitoring and explains how the Northeast Ohio 

Project manages and reports its air quality data. 

• Communications/outreach (Chapter 4). In addition to posting information on Web sites, the 

Northeast Ohio Project has conducted communications and outreach efforts through ther media, 

including a survey, medical and promotional brochures, handbooks for teachers and students, public 

service announcements (PSAs) and news releases, bus boards, a mascot, and a logo. The Project has 

distributed these materials to the general public through community events and medical offices, TV 

and radio stations, newspapers, schools, transit authorities, libraries, recreation centers, and camps. 

1.2.1 ROAD MAP 

Urban Growth 

Modeling that 

residents and local 

officials can use to 

simulate different 

future growth 

management options; 

description of how the 

urban growth models, 

databases, and Web 

sites were developed 

and managed: see 

Chapter 2. 

Air Quality Monitoring 

that provides the public 

with near-real-time and 

historical local air quality data; discussion of 

how the air quality data 

were managed and 

communicated to the 

public: see Chapter 3. 

Communications/ 

Outreach to the public 

about the urban sprawl 

and air quality projects, 

including a survey, a 

medical brochure, 

handbooks for teachers and students, a 

Website, PSAs, bus 

boards, a mascot, and 

a logo; description of 

how these materials 

were distributed: see

Chapter 4. 

1.2.2 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

Whether you are just beginning to think about a program to address urban sprawl or air quality issues or are 

in the process of expanding your program, the following frequently asked questions may be useful. 

Q: What is urban sprawl? 

A: Urban sprawl is the extension of low-density residential, commercial, and/or industrial development into 

rural areas beyond a city’s boundaries that occurs with little or no prior planning on the community or 

regional level. Several local and/or regional problems often occur as a result of sprawl, including degradation of air and water quality, increased traffic congestion, the decline of inner cities, higher costs for new 

services (e.g., roads, schools, water systems), and loss of community character. See Chapter 2, Section 

2.2, for more information about urban sprawl. 

Q: What is urban growth modeling? 

A: Urban growth modeling simulates potential future development scenarios and growth management 

options. Such simulation can help you evaluate the impacts of growth on land and other resource use. 

The growth management options that a model generates can show, for example, how much environmentally sensitive area or farmland can be saved by managing growth rather than allowing sprawl to occur. 

See Chapter 2, Section 2.3, for more on urban growth modeling. 

1-2 Chapter 1
Q: What factors should be considered when using or developing an urban growth model? 

A: The Northeast Ohio Project found five factors to be particularly important when developing its urban 

growth models: cost, ability to work with available data, accessibility by the public or other audience, 

understandability, and model validity. See Chapter 2, Section 2.4, for more information on these factors. 

Q: Why is GIS useful for environmental modeling? 

A: GIS (geographic information system) technology lets users overlay maps with several different kinds of 

information on one another, creating new, more comprehensive maps. GIS provides a way to produce 

visual displays of potential future land uses, population growth, and related environmental and other 

impacts. The Northeast Ohio Project has used GIS to compare different future development scenarios and 

growth management strategies and their effects. See Chapter 2, Section 2.4.1, for more on using GIS. 

Q: What types of data might be useful for developing an urban growth model? 

A: The Northeast Ohio Project based its urban growth models on several types of environmental and 

geospatial information, including: aquatic and terrestrial species/habitats, brownfields (i.e., abandoned or 

underused commercial or industrial sites), demographics, flood plains, geology/soils, hydrology/surface 

water, land use/cover, planning/zoning, pollution hazard, TIGER/Census, water quality, and wetlands 

data. See Chapter 2, Section 2.5.4, for more information on types of useful data. 

Q: What are some of the ways that an urban growth model can demonstrate the effects of different development 

patterns? 

A: Urban growth models often use build-out scenarios (e.g., projections of population growth) for an area as 

one key set of data to help determine how much growth could occur (e.g., in terms of population density) and where it could occur (e.g., in terms of land areas used). Urban growth models can also help 

users identify—and determine the acreage of—the most environmentally sensitive lands and farmland 

that will be lost to development or saved through certain growth management practices. As is the case 

with the Northeast Ohio Project model, these models can then show different ways of managing growth, 

such as (1) minimizing the amount of development allowed on environmentally sensitive lands and/or 

farmlands or (2) designating urban growth boundaries beyond which development can be restricted in 

various ways (e.g., requiring cluster development, providing state funds only for development within the 

boundary). See Chapter 2, Section 2.5, for more information on how the Northeast Ohio Project developed its growth models. 

Q: What is time-relevant air quality monitoring? 

A: It has become possible to report certain air quality information in near real time (e.g., hourly from 10 

a.m. to 7 p.m.) and show trends, such as changes over a 24-hour period. EPA’s AirNow program and the 

Northeast Ohio Air Quality Monitoring Project provide such information. Having such time-relevant 

information allows people to know when air quality in their area may be harmful and to take actions to 

protect their health during that time. See Chapter 3, Section 3.1, for more information on time-relevant 

air quality monitoring. 

Q: How can a time-relevant air quality monitoring project be developed and air monitoring data managed? 

A: Often, air quality monitoring stations with data management systems already in place to meet existing 

regulations (e.g., for the Clean Air Act) can provide time-relevant data as well. Some municipalities that 

decide to provide time-relevant data use this opportunity to update some of their systems (e.g., computer 

hardware and software). Air pollutants typically monitored and reported (e.g., in the Northeast Ohio Air 

Quality Monitoring Project) include ozone, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and others. See Chapter 3, Sections 3.2 and 3.3, for further details regarding the development and management 

of air quality monitoring programs. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling 1-3 
Q: How can urban growth models and air quality monitoring data be communicated to the public? 

A: Web sites have become popular tools for reporting and communicating environmental information to the 

public and other audiences. The Northeast Ohio Project has developed several Web sites, including one 

that features the Project’s “Urban Growth Simulator,” which lets users develop and compare different 

development scenarios. Another Project Web site provides air quality information and allows users to 

view graphs, maps, and text data. 

In addition to Web sites, it is often useful to develop other avenues of communication, since not everyone 

has a computer and ready access to the Internet. The Northeast Ohio Project’s Communications Workgroup 

has developed a number of outreach materials, including handbooks on urban sprawl and air quality for 

teachers and students, a brochure on the health effects of air quality (available to patients in doctors’ 

offices), bus boards, PSAs for both TV and radio, a promotional brochure, a logo, and a mascot. Consider 

developing similar outreach materials in more than one language if doing so would be appropriate for your 

audience. See Chapter 4 for detailed information on the Northeast Ohio Project’s communication and outreach efforts for urban sprawl and air quality monitoring. 

1-4 Chapter 1
2 The Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl 

Modeling Project 

2.1 INTRODUCTION 

A key goal of the Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project was to create a tool accessible to and 

usable by the general public so that any citizen could simulate alternative future growth patterns in his or 

her community. Achieving this goal involved developing a model that could be applied to a study area 

within a 15-county region in northeast Ohio (the 15 counties are Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, 

Medina, Ashtabula, Portage, Stark, Summit, Wayne, Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Carroll, and 

Holmes Counties), as well as to sub-regions of that area. 

Northeast Ohio has undergone significant urban development in recent years. The potential negative effects 

of this growth made clear the need for better planning. Seeking an appropriate growth management tool 

for northeast Ohio, researchers used an EPA EMPACT grant to examine urbanization as an environmental 

issue. The researchers reviewed existing environmental analysis and urban growth models and made a recommendation for a growth modeling program for the region. 

2.2 WHAT IS URBAN SPRAWL AND HOW DOES IT 

AFFECT COMMUNITIES? 

Urban sprawl is the haphazard spreading of low-density residential, commercial, and/or industrial development into rural areas near cities. Sprawling development often results in several potential community and 

regional problems, including: 

• Increased and insufficient land use and energy consumption 

• Increased traffic congestion. 

• Negative environmental effects, such as reduced air and water quality and loss of open space and 

other natural gases 

• Higher public costs for new facilities and services for the newly developed areas 

(e.g., road construction, sewer/water systems). 

• Loss of community character. 

• The decline of inner cities as people leave them for sprawled areas. 

See http://www.smartgrowth.org for more information on these issues. In recent years, urban sprawl has been 

the focus of many geographic, economic, and sociological analyses. For example, a 1998 report entitled 

Paying the Costs of Sprawl: Using Fair-Share Costing To Control Sprawl describes the fiscal and ecological 

costs of sprawl (http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/articles/sprawl.shtml, 2002). Another study, Living on the Edge, 

by researchers from Northern Illinois University and the American Farmland Trust, found that “scatter” 

development leads to increased emergency response times for police, ambulances, and firefighters that may 

exceed national standards (http://farmlandinfo.org/cae/scatter/e-loetoc.html, 1999). 

Americans now rank concerns over sprawl and growth as high as traditional issues such as crime, according 

to a study by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism. Survey participants in four cities (Denver, Tampa, San 

Francisco, and Philadelphia) listed sprawl and traffic congestion as major community concerns. Sixty percent of the participants in Denver cited sprawl as a top concern in an open-ended question, as did 47 

percent in San Francisco and 33 percent in Tampa (http://www.pewcenter.org/about/pr_ST2000.html, 2000). 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-1 
Around Cleveland, Ohio, land occupied by residential, commercial, and industrial uses increased by 33 

percent while population decreased by 11 percent from 1970 to 2001 (Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio: 

A Handbook for Educators and Their Students in Grades 4–8, produced by the Northeast Ohio Project). 

To prevent or control urban sprawl, planners, public administrators, public officials, environmentalists, and 

others have begun to monitor and seek to improve land-use decisions and regulations. For example, comprehensive (or master) planning is increasingly being used to help communities grow in ways that they choose 

rather than undergoing random and undesirable development. Also, zoning changes have been recommended for many communities to discourage sprawl and instead encourage smart growth. Simply defined, 

smart growth involves better planning of economic and community growth in balance with local natural 

and historical resources. Achieving better community growth might involve concentrating development 

where infrastructure (schools, roads, sewer lines, transit systems) is already in place; reinvesting in older 

communities instead of abandoning them to create new ones (through efforts such as EPA’s brownfields program); and preserving open space and community character, thus creating more liveable communities with a 

higher quality of life (http://www.nrdc.org/cities/smartGrowth/nsolve.asp, 2001). Assessing the effectiveness of 

smart growth planning tools, however, often requires relatively long-term evaluation. Therefore, some decision-makers and citizens have turned to urban growth modeling to improve and quicken the process of 

evaluating planning efforts and smart growth strategies. 

2.3 WHAT IS URBAN GROWTH MODELING AND HOW 

CAN IT BE USED? 

Urban growth modeling uses actual data (when available) and theoretical assumptions about land uses and 

environmental effects to produce growth-related scenarios (e.g., build-out analyses) for a given area. Using a 

computer program carefully designed to simulate as closely as possible the actual process of past, current, and 

potential future development, urban growth modeling can produce alternative development possibilities, displaying the results in various tabular, map, or other formats. 

For some time, the ability to apply theoretical growth models to actual land-use forecasting was limited by 

the expense of assembling, managing, and manipulating the large quantities of data required for such projects. However, the recent development of and improvements to computerized digital geospatial databases 

and the ability to manage and manipulate these databases using tools such as GIS has made it easier for citizens and local officials to use land-use forecasting, including urban growth modeling. 

By allowing current and future land uses to be examined, urban growth modeling can play an important 

role in evaluating the impacts of growth on land and water resources. Additionally, modeling can provide 

communities with a better understanding of the implications of different growth management policies and 

programs and contribute to more comprehensive land use and resource planning efforts. 

2.4 HOW CAN AN URBAN GROWTH MODEL BE DEVEL- OPED? 

Clearly identifying the goals that you want a growth management program to achieve is one of the first and 

most important steps in choosing an appropriate urban growth model. For the Northeast Ohio Urban 

Sprawl Modeling Project, a major goal was to limit negative environmental impacts associated with urban 

development. Thus researchers reviewed various environmental analysis computer models and approaches as 

they relate to urban growth issues in northeast Ohio. 

A literature review can be found on the EMPACT: Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio Web site 

(http://gis.kent.edu/gis/empact/lit_home.htm). 

There are many factors to consider when developing a new urban growth model or using an existing one. For 

the Northeast Ohio Project, the following five factors (roughly in order of importance) were used to evaluate 

10 fully operational noncommercial (academic) and commercial models: 

2-2 Chapter 2 
• Cost. 

• Ability to work with available data. 

• Ability to reach a large audience (accessibility). 

• Understandability. 

• Theoretical soundness (validity). 

These five factors are discussed below. 

Costs associated with an urban growth modeling program include initial purchase (or development), installation, and maintenance. Cost is often the initial consideration in developing a new model or adapting an 

existing modeling program. For example, although several of the commercial modeling packages fit the criteria of the Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project, they fell outside the budget. Additionally, 

while some commercial packages the Project considered could be custom-made, the source code would still 

have been owned by the manufacturing company: the user would have needed to work with the company 

each time a change needed to be made. This would have increased cost and made it more difficult to make 

the program fully accessible to the public. 

Ability of the model to work with available data. The type of data a model uses must match the data available 

for the study area and the types of information that the community wants to evaluate. For the Northeast 

Ohio Project, it was important to have a model that worked with the existing GIS data set and was adaptable 

to a specific study area within the 15-county northeast Ohio region so that the growth scenarios could be 

modified to meet different local conditions or requirements. 

Accessibility and understandability facilitate the key goal of making the model fully available to the public, 

allowing citizens and public officials to view the impacts of various development policy choices. Therefore the 

Project’s modeling program was to be made accessible via the Internet, which meant that the model had to be 

written in a programming language that was easily or directly adaptable for use on the Web. This requirement 

excluded all packages that used copyrighted code. The model, including its assumptions and operations, also 

needed to be easily understood by non-technical users. 

The theoretical soundness of a model determines its usefulness in providing accurate, valid alternative growth 

scenarios. Theoretical soundness, however, is almost inevitably inversely related to understandability. That is, 

the more sound a system is, the more complex (and thus more difficult to understand) it usually is. When 

choosing a model, one must weigh the degree of accuracy with the need for simplicity. 

2.4.1 USING GIS IN URBAN GROWTH MODELING 

GIS is an innovative tool that can demonstrate current and future development conditions and simulate 

possible growth scenarios, based on defined criteria and assumptions for development. By visually displaying 

land and resource use alternatives, including potential environmental and cultural resource impacts, economic implications, and potential use conflicts, GIS can help planners, public officials, and citizens better 

manage growth. 

GIS can combine layers of diverse information as geospatial data themes. It also lets users examine a broad 

range of alternatives. An increasing number of municipalities, counties, state and federal government agencies, and private groups are using GIS to help them make rational, ecologically sound decisions about 

resource development, impact mitigation, and other environmental management issues. 

When using GIS, be aware that creating a comprehensive GIS-based environmental database can often 

involve a significant amount of time and money unless you can obtain already-existing data that are current, 

easily interpreted, and cost-effective. Even when needed data do exist, they may be difficult to retrieve 

because they are fragmented in different systems and databases managed by several public, nonprofit, and 

private agencies. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-3 
2.5 HOW THE NORTHEAST OHIO URBAN GROWTH 

MODEL WAS DEVELOPED 

After selecting an urban growth modeling program, the Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 

developed two case studies to demonstrate the program’s applicability on a regional and sub-regional level. 

These studies show the usefulness of relatively simple simulation modeling and illustrate ways to identify or 

develop a model that is suitable for different levels of detail (i.e., both the regional and sub-regional levels). 

The Project also developed a more detailed Urban Growth Simulator. Both the case studies and the Urban 

Growth Simulator are described below. 

2.5.1 THE REGIONAL CASE STUDY 

The regional case study of the Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project was developed by EcoCity 

Cleveland with assistance from researchers at Cleveland State University. It presents one possible land-use 

development pattern for a seven-county region, based on various build-out scenarios. The regional case study 

model is essentially a simplified sustainability study for the area. Its purpose is to show what residential urban 

expansion in the region could look like based on a simple set of assumptions about where growth will occur. 

(See Figure 2-1, a map that shows one possible scenario for projected population density and land use based 

on a set of assumptions.) The program should not be used as a general guide to urban growth planning. 

Users can download the program used for this case study from the Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio Web site 

(http://gis.kent.edu/gis/empact/dwl_home.htm). They can also order it on CD-ROM from one of the study’s 

developers. 

Figure 2-1. Regional case study simulation. Using the ArcExplorer program, researchers estimated 

northeast Ohio’s population densities for 2020. A comparison of the 1990 population density 

map to this 2020 map indicates that urban sprawl will continue in the region if additional growth 

management strategies are not implemented. 

2-4 Chapter 2
2.5.2 THE SUB-REGIONAL CASE STUDY 

The sub-regional case study, like the regional study, is meant to give local citizens and officials a better 

understanding of the implications of different growth policies. However the sub-regional case study examines the impacts of urban sprawl on farmlands and environmentally critical areas at a more local level—a 

single county in northeast Ohio (Portage County). The case study is built on a model, called the Portage 

Model, that uses GIS data layers along with various growth management tools and policies to simulate 

future residential development patterns in Portage County. The model uses data sets that were readily 

available for the study area, including data on: 

• Generalized land use (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial, landfill) for a sample year in three 

different decades. 

• Farmlands. 

• Zoning districts. 

• Water and sanitary sewer-service areas. 

• Roads and highways. 

• Steep slopes. 

• Surface waters. 

• Critical natural areas. (The modelers created this data set by combining information on flood plains, 

wetlands, natural heritage areas, and ground-water pollution potential). 

• Population projections. 

The sub-regional case study allows the user to view three possible future development patterns for Portage 

County as a whole and for the individual townships within the county. Each pattern uses one of these three 

growth management models: 

• Continued growth model. This model assumes that growth and land development patterns continue to 

follow current trends, policies, and zoning regulations. This is often used as the baseline model. 

• Managed growth (or environmental protection) model. This model assumes that growth management 

tools and incentives for altering land development patterns are adopted by all local governments within 

a given county. For example, all communities would adopt zoning policies that prohibit residential 

development in areas deemed environmentally sensitive. This model also assumes the same rate of population growth as the continuous growth model. 

• Controlled growth model. This is the most aggressive of the three models. It assumes a lower population 

growth and stricter growth management tools to promote reduced, more compact development. 

These models were developed through complex mathematical equations and computer computations, 

summarized in Figure 2-2 and described in the steps below. 

The steps involved in developing the three growth management models for the sub-regional case study included: 

• The computer model first overlays the various GIS data layers being used (land-use changes, wetlands, 

etc.) to identify lands that are not yet developed but are zoned for development (“developable lands”). 

• The model then applies population forecasts and the criteria associated with the growth scenario being 

modeled. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-5 
Simulations of urban sprawl 

Land use zoning 

Developable lands 

Controlled 

growth model 

Computer

simulation 

Managed

growth model 

Continued 

growth model 

Natural critical areas 

Water service districts 

Sewer service districts 

Wetlands 

Flood plains 

Steep slopes 

Land use changes 

Growth 

management program 

Figure 2-2. Procedures and algorithms. 

• The simulation continues until all potential development sites available are identified under the particular growth model being simulated (i.e., controlled, managed growth/environmental protection, or 

continued growth model). 

The results of the model are presented in maps displaying development patterns and summary tables of the 

amount of farmland and critical natural areas lost to development (see Figures 2-3, 2-4, and 2-5). 

The sub-regional case study program can be downloaded from the Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio Web site 

(http://gis.kent.edu/gis/empact/dwl_home.htm) and can also be run online. (The regional study cannot be run 

online because it relies on ArcExplorer, a map-browsing program that must be installed on the user’s computer; the sub-regional study does not use this software.) 

The following maps (Figures 2-3, 2-4, and 2-5) show three possible development scenarios for the subregional case study simulation for Aurora Township, Portage County, Ohio, for the year 2015. The Portage 

Model was used to simulate three alternative growth build-out scenarios for all of Portage County and for 

the individual townships within the county. 

2-6 Chapter 2
Figure 2-3. Continuous growth model. This model assumes that population growth and 

land development patterns continue to follow current trends. No new local development 

policies or growth management strategies are implemented. The result is extensive, 

random, sprawling development. Note the extensive “sim residential” areas, indicating 

new residential development. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-7
Figure 2-4. Managed growth (environmental protection) model. For this model, the same 

population growth is assumed as in Figure 2-3, but some growth management tools are 

applied to restrict the amount of land used for new development. For example, no new 

development is allowed in wetlands or other environmentally sensitive areas. The result is 

more compact development. 

2-8 Chapter 2
Figure 2-5. Controlled growth model. This model assumes a lower population growth 

combined with more aggressive growth management strategies. The result is even more 

compact development and the highest amount of undeveloped land. Note how new 

residential development (“sim residential”) occurs adjacent to existing residential areas. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-9
2.5.3 THE URBAN GROWTH SIMULATOR 

The Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project also developed an Urban Growth Simulator model, 

which the Project used to provide more information and flexibility to users than the models used in the case 

studies. The Urban Growth Simulator allows users (e.g., citizens, interest groups, government agencies, 

planners) to project future changes in their communities and observe the implications of various strategies 

for managing residential growth. A user can generate individual build-out scenarios and change available 

data to view alternative future growth scenarios in map or table formats. 

The Simulator is unique among available growth modeling programs in that it allows efficient simulations 

of urban growth with minimal requirements of data from users. Its newest version can take simulated buildout scenarios and calculate estimated nonpoint-source pollution as well as the amount of land used by 

simulated growth in categorized soil types. This new version will be used in projects for Geauga County and 

the Grand River Watershed in Ohio. 

The Urban Growth Simulator was based on the Portage Model, described in Section 2.5.2. Like the subregional case study, it uses extensive data sets so users do not have to compile their own data. However, the 

Urban Growth Simulator is more robust than the Portage Model, allowing users to evaluate the effects of 

implementing the following three growth management strategies: 

• Avoid critical natural areas (CNA). CNA include wetlands, steep slopes, flood plains, areas surrounding endangered or threatened animal or plant species, and other areas considered environmentally 

sensitive. Under this strategy, permits would not be granted for new development in these areas, and 

thus CNA would be protected. 

• Establish a growth boundary. Users can place a boundary on new development, making development 

more compact by limiting it to a given area and reducing the impacts of sprawl. 

• Maximize open space. Requiring new developments to preserve more lands for open space might 

involve reducing the lot sizes of new developments, cluster zoning, etc. 

In addition to choosing a growth management strategy, Simulator users can modify two other variables that 

affect the amount and form of development: 

• Lot size. By defining lot sizes, users can choose the land area (in acres) that each new unit would need 

in order to be built. 

• Frontage or cluster development. Users can also choose to base their modeled development on either: 

■ Frontage, in which new developments of 5 to 15 units are built along streets, or 

■	Cluster development, in which new developments are built in subdivisions of 5 to 30 units 

grouped together. 

Figure 2-6 shows results from the Urban Growth Simulator in map and tabular form (see also 

http://empact.geog.kent.edu). Acreage of CNA and farmlands affected by simulated development is also shown 

as an indication of how the environment is being affected. 

2-10 Chapter 2
Figure 2-6a. Northeast Ohio Urban Growth Simulator workspace. This figure shows the Web page of the Urban 

Growth Simulator (http://empact.geog.kent.edu), from which users can input various levels of development and 

growth management strategies. The map on the right shows current development in the chosen township, in this 

case Boston Heights Township in Summit County. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-11 
Subtotal (Acres) 

1,000 

Type of Land Use 

Residential 

Commercial 250 

Industrial 100 

Total (acres) 1,350 

Figure 2-6b. Sample simulation with no growth management strategies applied (for Boston Heights, Summit 

County, Ohio). No growth management strategies were applied in this scenario, resulting in 1,350 acres 

developed, including the loss of 53.5 acres of agricultural land and 57.75 acres of CNA. 

2-12 Chapter 2
Subtotal (Acres) 

1,000 

Type of Land Use 

Residential 

Commercial 110 

Industrial 100 

Total (acres) 1,210 

Figure 2-6c. Sample simulation with “Use Growth Boundary/Growth Center” and “Avoid Critical Natural Areas 

(CNA)” applied (for Boston Heights, Summit County, Ohio). In this case, the combination of two growth 

management strategies led to less land being developed than in Figures 2-6a and b. A total of 1,210 acres 

were developed, and no CNA were lost. To accommodate growth, however, 76 acres of agricultural land were 

lost to development. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-13 
2.5.4 HOW WERE DATA FOR THE URBAN SPRAWL MODELING 

PROJECT GATHERED AND MANAGED? 

A large amount of data is needed to create a valid urban growth model. The Northeast Ohio Project based its 

urban growth models on many types of environmental and geospatial data: aquatic and terrestrial 

species/habitats, brownfields, demographics, flood plains, geology/soils, hydrology/surface water, land 

use/cover, planning/zoning, pollution hazard, TIGER/Census, water quality, and wetlands data, for example. 

These data came from a variety of sources, including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, EPA’s 

Better Assessment Science Integrating Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS) project, the Northeast Ohio 

Data Information Service (NODIS), Magic 2000 CD-ROM data, and the Northeast Ohio Environmental 

Data Exchange Networks (NEOEDEN). 

NEOEDEN was a project undertaken by four universities (Cleveland State University, Kent State 

University, the University of Akron, and Youngstown State University) before the EPA EMPACT grant 

began for the Northeast Ohio Project. The goal of NEOEDEN was “to create and maintain a data exchange 

network for northeast Ohio, focusing on environmental and geospatial information” by collecting, processing, and making available on the Internet a broad range of environmental and land-use data in a 14-county 

northeast Ohio region (http://urban.csuohio.edu/~ucweb/neoeden/neoeden.htm, 2002). NEOEDEN sought to 

inventory all relevant publicly available data for northeast Ohio by: 

• Identifying programs or organizations that produce, manage, or disseminate geo-referenced environmental data that could be incorporated into NEOEDEN. 

• Determining what data each organization had, as well as the suitability of those data for inclusion in 

the NEOEDEN database. 

• Establishing priorities for collecting and documenting these data based on demand, geographic extent, 

uniqueness, and other criteria to be determined by the NEOEDEN organizations and users. 

• Identifying other data, currently unavailable in digital form, that might be suitable for the NEOEDEN 

database. 

In the course of the Northeast Ohio Project, NEOEDEN was expanded to incorporate additional GIS data 

sets, database search software, and an Internet mapping server as part of the redesign of the Web site, allowing users to view selected data sets in mapped format or as tables. Currently there are 364 geospatial data 

sets on the NEOEDEN Web site. Of these, 32 are downloadable. 

Data completeness and timeliness varies across the 15 Ohio counties included in the Northeast Ohio Urban 

Sprawl Modeling Project. For some data sets, necessary information was based on assumptions, estimates, 

and U.S. Geological Survey records on historical data. The researchers decided to include such data sets 

because they felt that some users would still find the information helpful, even if it was incomplete. It is 

hoped that the data inventory will continue to be completed and expanded. 

2.5.5 HOW ARE URBAN GROWTH MODELING DATA 

COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC? 

County planning commissions are one key mechanism for using and communicating information for the


Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project. For example, Geauga and Portage Counties have used the


Northeast Ohio Project Web site to generate build-out scenarios that are used at various public meetings by


county residents.


Web site. Kent State University’s Department of Geography hosts the EMPACT: Urban Sprawl in


Northeast Ohio Web site, a good resource for the public and local officials (http://gis.kent.edu/gis/empact/;


see Figure 2-7). The site describes the problems of urban sprawl and the usefulness of models and simulators.


2-14 Chapter 2
Figure 2-7. EMPACT: Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio Web Site. (Source: http://gis.kent.edu/gis/empact/) 

Users can also download the regional and sub-regional case study simulations from this site, as well as order 

the regional study on CD-ROM. They can also run the sub-regional study as well as the Urban Growth 

Simulator online at the site. (See Sections 2.5.1 and 2.5.2 for discussions of the case studies and Section 

2.5.3 for a description of the Urban Growth Simulator). For quick reference, the Web site also provides 

screen capture samples from the case studies. 

Documentation for the Urban Growth Simulator. The Project, as part of its communications and outreach 

effort, developed an Urban Growth Simulator Self-Guided Workbook that provides step-by-step guidance 

through four simulations. The Workbook explains what each menu item is used for and how to use the 

Simulator to achieve particular results. The Workbook can be downloaded from the Kent State University 

Web site (http://empact.geog.kent.edu/workbook.html) or requested from the Kent State University geography 

department. 

Educational handbook. A workbook on urban sprawl, titled Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio: A Handbook 

for Educators and Their Students in Grades 4–8, was created. It provides teachers with activities, information, 

and resources to help them introduce the concept of urban sprawl into their classrooms. It also shows readers 

how to use the Urban Growth Simulator, using sections from the Urban Growth Simulator Self-Guided 

Workbook. 

Seminars and training sessions. The Northeast Ohio Project offered seminars and training sessions to local 

organizations from which Project researchers hoped to gather data sets. 

Urban Sprawl Modeling Project 2-15 
Chapter 4 discusses a variety of additional communications/outreach efforts conducted by the Northeast 

Ohio Project. 

2.5.6 WHAT LESSONS WERE LEARNED IN THE NORTHEAST 

OHIO URBAN SPRAWL MODELING PROJECT? 

Some of the lessons learned in developing the northeast Ohio urban growth models included: 

• Set realistic goals for data collection. Collecting comprehensive data from a variety of sources into one 

data clearinghouse is a good concept, but can be difficult to achieve for a variety of reasons (discussed 

below). It is important early in a growth modeling project to clearly define a realistic scope of data collection and limit modeling efforts accordingly. 

Collecting and maintaining data for a growth management project can be expensive, in terms of both 

time and money. To reduce this cost, the Northeast Ohio Project attempted to use readily available, 

existing data sets to create a centralized database and avoid duplication of research. This effort, however, was itself challenging. The NEOEDEN team sent out questionnaires to various organizations and 

agencies that had data sets useful to the project. The response rate was quite low, and much of the 

information ended up coming from state agencies. Also, some organizations were unwilling to donate 

their data or did not feel that they had the time to participate. 

• Establish a good organizational structure at the start of the project. A good structure might include 

having a single, lead entity, such as a state agency, oversee the project and set clear guidelines and 

expectations from the beginning, rather than having different organizations responsible for various 

aspects of a project. For example, a government agency could take on the responsibility of managing 

the project and owning the resulting product, which would then have a place in the agency’s annual 

budget and possible continued funding and support; this system would help to ensure that the frequent updates involved in data collection and maintenance are performed. If universities are involved, 

their role could be to research and develop the product and then turn it over to a regional planning 

committee or other government entity to sustain it. The product’s creators could train government 

employees in the use of the modeling programs and data maintenance. Community nonprofit organizations are often good partners for conducting outreach. 

• Obtain project involvement by high-level officials, such as mayors or county engineers, to help support 

an urban growth modeling project. Several counties in northeast Ohio (e.g., Summit County) were 

successful in promoting a collaborative effort on data collection, in part because they had such highlevel support. 

• Consider developing case studies to showcase completed simulation models, for example for different 

scales, such as at the regional (e.g., seven-county) and sub-regional (e.g., one-county) levels. The case 

studies for the Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl Modeling Project exemplified successful development 

and growth management projections and illustrated a simplified method for performing modeling and 

simulations. 

• Possibly develop more than one product to fully serve various audiences. While a Web-based system is a 

good avenue for those with ready Internet access, you may also want to create a stand-alone system 

(such as a CD-ROM) that allows quicker data transfer than the Internet does. CD-ROMs have 

another advantage: you can use them to meet the needs of advanced users (e.g., planners). A CD can 

be created that contains more detailed or specific data than your Web system does. You can also supply sophisticated users with CDs containing modeling software (the “back end” of your online model) 

to which they can add their own data. In addition, printed materials may be important to develop to 

reach people without Internet or computer access. 

The air quality monitoring component of the Northeast Ohio Project is discussed in Chapter 3. Additional 

outreach and communications efforts conducted by the Northeast Ohio Project are discussed in Chapter 4. 

2-16 Chapter 2 
3 The Northeast Ohio Air Quality

Monitoring Project 

3.1 INTRODUCTION 

The Northeast Ohio Air Quality Monitoring Project is one of the three key components of the Northeast 

Ohio Project. The purpose of the Air Quality Monitoring Project is to provide public access to monitored 

air quality data in 15 counties of northeast Ohio. This information is disseminated through the Project’s 

Northeast Ohio Air Quality Online, or NEOAIR, Web site (http://neoair.noaca.ohiou.edu/), which presents 

near-real-time and historical air quality data. A dynamic interface allows users to select the type of data they 

wish to view. 

3.1.1 WHAT IS TIME-RELEVANT AIR QUALITY MONITORING? 

Information on air quality can be provided to the public in near real time, depending on the frequency of 

sampling and the speed of data retrieval and processing. Access to real-time data allows people to take 

appropriate actions to protect their health and the environment. For example, when certain air pollutant 

levels are high, normally healthy people may decide to limit outdoor activities and more sensitive populations (children, the elderly, people with breathing problems) may choose to stay indoors. Additionally, a 

public that is aware of current pollution levels may be encouraged to take steps to reduce air emissions 

through measures such as efficient electricity use, carpooling, and use of public transportation. Already 

existing air monitoring stations (as described in Section 3.1.3) can often be used to conduct time-relevant 

air quality monitoring and reporting programs. 

3.1.2 THE EPA AIRNOW PROGRAM 

The Northeast Ohio Air Quality Monitoring Project was derived from EPA’s AirNow Program (see 

http://www.epa.gov/airnow), which provides the public with easy access to national and regional air quality 

information. The AirNow Web site offers daily air quality forecasts as well as real-time air quality information for over 100 cities across the United States, and provides links to more detailed state and local air 

quality Web sites. The site also includes information on the health and environmental effects of air pollution, ways that people can protect their health and actions they can take to reduce pollution, and links to 

EPA publications that highlight the environmental and health effects of air quality and explain the basic 

science of ozone. 

Currently, real-time AirNow air quality maps provide ozone levels for 38 states and parts of Canada. 

During the ozone season (May through September in most areas, April through October in Ohio), these 

maps are updated every hour. Users can view still-frame maps of 1-hour peak values, 8-hour peak values, 

and forecasts. Animated maps of hourly averages are also available. Future plans for the AirNow site include 

ozone mapping for the contiguous 48 states and real-time mapping of particulate matter. Ways in which 

the Northeast Ohio Air Quality Monitoring Project has used and supplemented AirNow data for the 

northeast Ohio region are discussed in Section 3.2. 

3.1.3 OVERVIEW OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING 

Under the Clean Air Act, states are required to establish air quality monitoring networks to measure ambient concentrations of pollutants for which National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) have been 

established. These pollutants, known as criteria pollutants, are particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide 

(NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and lead. 

Ambient Air Quality Surveillance requirements (40 CFR Part 58) specify how often monitoring must 

occur and where monitoring stations are to be sited. 

Air Quality Monitoring Project 3-1 
The monitoring networks consist of strategically located air monitoring stations and data collection, transfer, and storage systems. The types of stations include state and local air monitoring stations (SLAMS), 

national air monitoring stations (NAMS), and photochemical assessment monitoring stations (PAMS). 

Information on pollutant concentrations is used to: 

• Determine if an area is in compliance with the NAAQS. 

• Develop strategies for controlling pollutant levels. 

• Provide information to the public about local air quality. 

Guidance for establishing a monitoring network can be found at the website 

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/cpreldoc.html and in the following EPA documents: 

PAMS Implementation Manual, EPA/454/B-93/051 (http://www.epa.gov/ttnamti1/pams.html) 

Ozone Monitoring, Mapping, and Public Outreach, Delivering Real-Time Ozone Information to Your 

Community, EPA/625/R-99/007 

3.2 AIR QUALITY INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM THE

NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT 

The following information on ozone is available at the 

Northeast Ohio Project’s NEOAIR Web site: 

• Near-real-time data, including hourly average 

levels depicted on a stationary map and levels 

for the previous 24 hours on an animated map. 

A map of northeast Ohio with ozone levels is 

shown in Figure 3-1. (See Section 3.4.2 for 

further discussion of these maps.) 

• Tabular presentations of current data at each of 18 

air monitoring stations, as shown in Figure 3-2. 

• Historical data, shown on maps, tables, and 

reports. Examples of historical data are shown in 

Figures 3-3 and 3-4. Figure 3-1. Northeast Ohio ozone levels, hourly average, 

stationary map. The NEOAIR Web site differs from the AirNow Web site 

in that it lets users view northeast Ohio in greater detail and thus obtain information on air quality at more 

specific locations. Real-time levels for non-ozone pollutants are also included on the NEOAIR Web site. 

3.3 HOW ARE AIR QUALITY DATA MANAGED? 

The same monitoring and data management systems used to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act 

can often be used as the basis for other air monitoring programs. The NEOAIR Web site, for example, relies 

on existing monitors to provide data, with PM2.5 monitors added as part of the Air Quality Monitoring 

Project. 

3.3.1 DATA COLLECTION 

Air monitoring infrastructure that is already in place for data transmission to meet regulatory requirements 

(e.g., 40 CFR Part 58) can often be used for other data collection and reporting purposes, such as a local 

near-real-time air quality monitoring and reporting program and Web site. For example, the Ohio 

Environmental Protection Agency collects data from the air monitoring stations in northeast Ohio for 

transmission to the U.S. EPA. The same data are automatically transferred to NEOAIR every 2 hours 

during ozone season. 

3-2 Chapter 3 
Figure 3-2. Example of data available in table Figure 3-3. Historical ozone data (graph format) for the

format from the Northeast Ohio Project Web site. Northeast Ohio Project. 

Figure 3-4. Historical ozone data (table format) for the 

Northeast Ohio Project. 

Air Quality Monitoring Project 3-3 
As a preliminary step in developing the Northeast Ohio Project’s air monitoring system, Project staff 

reviewed the existing air quality monitoring network to identify any deficiencies. As a result, data loggers 

and modems at the monitoring sites were upgraded. 

Data received from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency are automatically reformatted, evaluated, 

prepared for presentation, and stored in a database. The database is then accessed to supply data in response 

to Web site user queries. The general flow of data is shown in Figure 3-5. 

SQL database 

Raw data Formatted data 

Ohio EPA 

Client Client request/server 

response (HTML) NEOAIR Web server 

(IIS) 

SQL query 

called by ASP 

Format 

processing 

Figure 3-5. Data flow for the data retrieval module. 

3.3.2 DATA QUALITY 

It is important to ensure the quality of data collected before it is reported to the public. Data entry errors 

can produce erroneous data, as can malfunctioning or inoperable monitors. 

Data received by NEOAIR are checked automatically. Data are identified as erroneous if reported values are 

outside expected ranges or have changed at greater-than-expected rates. The Web site does not report data 

identified as erroneous. Instead, it shows the data as not available, indicated by “-999” in the text or by a 

gray area on maps. 

3.3.3 DATA STORAGE 

The data for the NEOAIR Web site are stored in a database using a Microsoft SQL server. There are seven 

different kinds of information in the database, as shown in Table 3-1. 

3-4 Chapter 3
Table 3-1. Types of Information Included in the NEOAIR Database

Table 3-2. NEOAIR Web Site Software

Table 3-1. Types of Information Included in the NEOAIR Database 

Category Information Included 

Monitors Monitor name, monitor ID, EPA region, county, latitude, longitude, land use, location type, 

available information, and time period. 

Ozone peak values Daily 1-hour and 8-hour peak values, monitor ID, and date for each of the 18 ozone monitors. 

Ozone exceedances Produced from the peak value data to save data retrieval time. Contains 1-hour and 8-hour 

exceedances, monitor ID, and date for each of the 18 ozone monitors. 

SO2 peak values Daily 1-hour peak values, monitor ID, date, 1-hour max, and 24-hour max for each of the 

10 SO2 monitors. 

SO2 exceedances Produced from the peak value table to save data retrieval time. Contains 24-hour 

exceedances, monitor ID, and date for each of the 10 SO2 monitors. 

CO peak values Daily 1-hour and 8-hour peak values, monitor ID, and date for each of the two CO monitors. 

CO exceedances Produced from peak value table to save data retrieval time. Contains 8-hour exceedances, 

monitor ID, and date for each of the two CO monitors. 

3.3.4 HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE USED BY NEOAIR TO 

OPERATE ITS AIR QUALITY MONITORING WEB SITE 

The NEOAIR Web site uses a workgroup server/workstation with the following attributes: 

• CPU: Intel Pentium III. 

• Memory: 128 MB. 

• Hard disk: 10 GB. 

Software used for the NEOAIR Web site is shown in Table 3-2 

Table 3-2. NEOAIR Web Site Software 

Near-Real-Time Data 

Ozone Non-Ozone 

Software Type Historical Data 

Operating system 

Database server 

Java developing

and executing tool 

Web server 

Web developing tool 

Graphic tool 

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server or Windows 2000 Server 

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 4.0 or 2000 

(a component of Windows NT or 2000) 

Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 

Microsoft Visual Interdev 6.0 

Macromedia Dreamweaver 

UltraDev 4.0 

Mapinfo

Adobe Photoshop 6.0 

Adobe Image Ready 3.0 

Macromedia Fireworks 4.0 

Java Development Kit 1.1 

or higher version 

Air Quality Monitoring Project 3-5 
3.3.4.1 WHAT ARE THE LABOR REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATING THE NEOAIR WEB SITE ONCE IT IS RUNNING? 

Most functions of the NEOAIR Web site can be automated. Non-automated functions that require personnel include creating the 24-hour automated maps; creating or replacing maps and tables due to missing data 

or errors; troubleshooting the server’s HTTP and FTP service, as well as its overall performance; updating 

and maintaining the Web server; updating Web pages; writing and updating programs; and testing new 

programs, software, and procedures. It is estimated that these activities could require 10 hours or more 

per week of a programmer’s time and 3 hours per week or more of a system administrator’s time. 

3.4 HOW ARE THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT’S AIR 

QUALITY DATA COMMUNICATED TO THE PUBLIC? 

3.4.1 HOW DOES THE PUBLIC ACCESS INFORMATION ON THE 

NEOAIR WEB SITE? 

The NEOAIR Web site provides information on ozone, PM, CO, SO2, NO2, and ozone action days. 

(The organization of the NEOAIR Web site is shown in Figure 3-6.) The public can access information in 

two ways. “Static” pages provide general information on air pollution. Static pages are mainly textual and 

do not require any input from the user, except the kind of information in which the user is interested. 

An example of a static page is shown in Figure 3-7. “Dynamic” pages allow users to query the Web site 

for specific time-relevant and historic data. 

What pollutes our air? 

Ozone action days 

Today's air quality 

Your comments 

Contact 

Ozone 

Particulate matter 

Sulfur dioxide 

Nitrogen oxides 

Carbon monoxide 

Basic nature of the 

pollutant, where it 

comes from, and its 

effects on the 

environment 

Full-screen map 

illustrating air quality 

levels in northeast Ohio 

within the last 2 hours 

Link to 

www.noaca.org/ 

Environmental/Air_ 

Quality/Ozone_Action_ 

Day_Program/ozone_ 

action_day_program.html 

General comments 

about the Web site 

and contributions 

for the same 

Persons involved in 

the design and 

maintenance of 

the Web site 

Full-screen map 

illustrating the 

progression of air 

quality levels in 

northeast Ohio 

over the last 24 hours 

Real-time air quality

statistics, as well as 

historical statistics,

reported by each of 

the 18 air monitors 

located in northeast Ohio 

Today’s air quality 

Animation map 

Air monitors 

Figuure 3-6. Web page flow chart for NEOAIR. Figure 3-7. Example of NEOAIR Web site “static” 

page for general air pollution information. 

3-6 Chapter 3
3.4.2 HOW DOES THE NEOAIR WEB SITE DISPLAY TIMERELEVANT DATA? 

The NEOAIR Web site uses maps to display near-real-time concentrations of ozone across northeast Ohio. 

Colors on the map represent ranges of ozone concentrations. The ranges are the same as those used by EPA 

to define air quality (good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy) and the colors are the same as those used on EPA’s AirNow Web site. The NEOAIR maps differ from the AirNow maps 

in that they show a smaller geographical area, providing greater detail. As mentioned previously, two types of 

maps are available for ozone: a map showing hourly average levels across northeast Ohio (see Figure 3-1) and 

an animated map showing levels for the previous 24 hours. Time-relevant data are also presented in a table 

summarizing monitoring station data, as shown in Figure 3-2. 

Non-ozone pollutant concentrations are sampled once per day, since they do not change as significantly over 

the course of a day as ozone. Data for non-ozone pollutants are presented in a tabular format only: the monitors are relatively sparsely located and do not necessarily represent overall regional conditions, since these 

pollutants are not atmospherically generated. 

3.4.3 HOW DOES THE NEOAIR WEB SITE DISPLAY 

HISTORICAL DATA? 

Historical data are displayed in formats similar to those for time-relevant data. Maps of the average ozone 

level for 1-hour periods are available as well as animated maps showing the change in ozone levels over 24-

hour periods going back to 2000. Historical data are also available for each monitor, as shown in Figures 3-3 

and 3-4. The user can request reports on peak ozone values and ozone exceedances at each monitor going 

back as far as 1985. Historical non-ozone data from continuous monitors are currently being added, and 

data from non-continuous PM2.5 monitors may be added in the future. 

3.4.4 IS AIR QUALITY INFORMATION COMMUNICATED IN WAYS

OTHER THAN THE NEOAIR WEB SITE? 

The Northeast Ohio Project has used a variety of additional means to communicate the availability of air 

quality monitoring data to the public, including: 

• A medical brochure. 

• An air quality handbook. 

• Bus boards. 

• Radio and TV PSAs. 

• News releases. 

These other forms of public outreach and health risk communication are discussed in Chapter 4. 

3.5 LESSONS LEARNED IN THE NORTHEAST OHIO AIR

QUALITY MONITORING PROJECT 

The Project’s experience in conducting and expanding its air quality monitoring program resulted in some 

key lessons learned, including: 

• Schedule sufficient time frames for tasks when multiple agencies and organizations are involved, particularly when multiple groups are involved in developing Web site information. 

• Maintain good working relationships with agency and group partners. Good working relations and 

communication are especially important to an organization that is involved in only certain aspects of the 

data flow, rather than being in control of the data it needs. Without good communication, timely access 

to the data to be reported to the public (e.g., to be posted on the Web site) could be problematic. 

Air Quality Monitoring Project 3-7 
4 The Northeast Ohio 

Communications Project 

4.1 THE NORTHEAST OHIO COMMUNICATIONS 

WORKGROUP 

The Northeast Ohio Communications Workgroup consists of a diverse group of representatives of federal and 

local government agencies, local environmental organizations, health agencies, and local universities. The 

Workgroup was organized into a coordination committee and an advisory committee; the Earth Day Coalition 

(EDC) was designated the lead organization for outreach. EDC was chosen as the lead because of its experience 

with the target audience—inner-city, racially diverse communities of the Cleveland-Akron region in Ohio. 

The Workgroup seeks to publicize the availability of the Northeast Ohio Project’s air quality and urban sprawl 

data and products to the greater Cleveland-Akron community, enabling citizens to make informed decisions on 

day-to-day environmental and health concerns that can affect their quality of life. 

4.2 WHAT DOES THE TARGET AUDIENCE NEED 

TO KNOW? 

To create a successful outreach campaign, the Communications Workgroup conducted a survey of 

northeast Ohio residents to determine their information needs, knowledge level, and means of gathering 

information. This questionnaire was used, for example, to assess the public’s computer knowledge and patterns of computer use and determine how to best present information to the target audience of low-income 

and minority communities. It was important to learn which communication outlets (other than computers) 

the target audience used, so that key information could be conveyed to community members who were not 

computer literate. The survey questions are in Appendix A. 

The survey was administered to a random sampling (100+ respondents with a +/-6.5% margin of error) of 

the potential audiences that might use the Project’s data. The Communications Workgroup followed up with 

respondents and other participants at six in-depth community meetings. Survey results were compiled and 

analyzed, and a report distributed to the Project steering committee. 

Survey results included: 

• The average inner-city resident was unaware of the environment-to-health link (less than 15 percent 

cited awareness). The level of awareness of ozone issues, including Ozone Action Days, was quite low 

(with less than 40 percent of the population aware), and knowledge of the health impacts of ozone was 

very low (less than 8 percent). 

• Over 20 percent of all households have one or more members diagnosed with a respiratory health condition that could be exacerbated by high ozone or particulate levels. 

• The number of households with respiratory concerns exceeded 35 percent. 

• TV and radio are the major channels of daily information entering the household, with over 

85 percent of participants using these media. 

• Printed materials from or by the medical community are highly valued and preferred by the survey 

respondents and meeting participants. 

• Information needs to be relevant and immediate to have an impact on households’ decision-making. 

Communications Project 4-1
Table 4-1. Outreach Materials Developed by the Northeast Ohio

Project’s Communications Workgroup

4.3 COMPONENTS OF THE NORTHEAST OHIO 

PROJECT’S OUTREACH PLAN 

Outreach conducted by the Northeast Ohio Project’s Communications Workgroup was quite extensive, as 

shown in Table 4-1 and discussed throughout this chapter. 

Table 4-1.	 Outreach Materials Developed by the Northeast Ohio 

Project’s Communications Workgroup 

Subject Target Audience 

• Air quality • General public of northeast Ohio1 

• Environmental quality and health (specifically inner-city residents) 

Item/Product

Initial communications survey

Promotional brochure • Northeast Ohio Project • General public 

Medical brochure, Your Air, Your Health, 

Your Environment: News You Can Use 

• Air quality and related health effects • General public of northeast Ohio 

(specifically inner-city residents) 

Educational handbook, Air Quality in 

Northeast Ohio: A Handbook for 

Educators and Their Students in 

Grades 4–8 

• Air quality/air pollution 

• Northeast Ohio Project 

• Educators (teachers, camp counselors) 

• 9- to 13-year-olds in school and camps 

Educational handbook, Urban Sprawl in 

Northeast Ohio: A Handbook for 

Educators and Their Students in 

Grades 4–8 

• Urban sprawl and its effect on 

the environment 

• Northeast Ohio Project 

• Educators (teachers, camp counselors) 

• 9- to 13-year-olds in school and camps 

Web site, Northeast Ohio EMPACT 

Project (hosted by the Neighborhood Link) 

• Northeast Ohio Project: – Air quality – Urban sprawl – Community outreach • General public 

Web site, EMPACT: Urban Sprawl in 

Northeast Ohio (hosted by Kent State 

University) 

• Urban sprawl and its effects on the 

local environment and communities 

• General public 

• Local officials 

• City/regional planners 

Urban Growth Simulator • Urban sprawl • General public 

• Students 

• Local officials 

• City/regional planners 

Bus boards • Air quality 

• Northeast Ohio Project 

• General public of northeast Ohio, 

specifically residents in areas 

identified as high-risk or 

environmental justice neighborhoods 

Radio PSAs • Air quality and its health effects 

• Northeast Ohio Project 

• General public 

Television PSAs • Air quality and its health effects 

• Northeast Ohio Project 

• General public 

• Children 

Mascot, Abee (Always Breathe EasiEr) • Air quality 

• Urban sprawl 

• Northeast Ohio Project 

• General public 

• Children 

• Local officials 

Logo • Northeast Ohio Project • General public 

• Local officials and decision-makers 

1Unless otherwise noted, “general public” refers to residents of the 15-county area covered by the Northeast Ohio Project. 

4-2 Chapter 4
4.3.1 HOW DOES THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT 

COMMUNICATE AIR QUALITY INFORMATION AND

ISSUES TO THE PUBLIC? 

The community survey described in Section 4.2 represents one of the first forms of community outreach 

used by the Northeast Ohio Project. The survey results gave the project important information on how best 

to educate the public on air quality issues and also introduced the concept of air quality to this audience. 

Outreach efforts that followed the survey are discussed below. 

4.3.1.1 MEDICAL BROCHURE ON HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH

AIR QUALITY 

The survey distributed to community residents (see Section 4.2) indicated that many citizens of inner-city 

northeast Ohio trust information from the medical community. Therefore, a medical brochure entitled Your 

Air, Your Health, Your Environment: News You Can Use was produced to provide the general public with 

information on air pollution and its effects in northeast Ohio. 

The brochure, featuring a picture of a doctor and child on the cover 

(Figure 4-1), discusses the six criteria air pollutants (lead, PM, groundlevel ozone, CO, SO2, and NO2), who is most at risk from air pollution, 

and how to find out about daily air quality levels. Resources for more 

information, including the Northeast Ohio Project’s Web site, are listed in 

the brochure. A total of 25,000 brochures were produced for at-risk individuals and distributed to the medical community throughout northeast 

Ohio—registered nurses, county health departments, county hospitals, 

children’s hospitals, asthma clinics, elementary and middle schools, participating universities, and nonprofit organizations. 

4.3.1.2 AIR QUALITY HANDBOOK 

Outreach to educators and students on air quality was accomplished


through Air Quality in Northeast Ohio: A Handbook for Educators and


Their Students in Grades 4–8. The handbook (Figure 4-2) includes


approximately 85 pages of background information, activities, experi­


ments, lesson plans, and resources on air pollution, air quality, and the


Northeast Ohio Project. Teachers reviewed drafts of the handbook during


its development. EDC members used the handbooks to conduct training


at camps and recreation centers. 


Example handbook activities include an air quality flashcard game with


cut-out vocabulary cards provided, experiments incorporating observation


and math skills through data collection and analysis, and activities related


directly to the NEOAIR Web site. The handbook indicates appropriate


grade levels for each activity or experiment, along with educator notes that


refer to background information. EDC produced and distributed about 

Figure 4-1. Medical brochure
 100 copies of the air quality handbook. developed by the Northeast


The air quality handbook was very well received in the education Ohio Project.


community. School principals were enthusiastic about bringing the air


quality educational program to their schools because air pollution–related health problems (e.g., absences


due to asthma) affect so many of their students. Teachers were enthusiastic about free classroom


presentations and educational materials. Many schools requested additional copies.


Communications Project 4-3
Highlights of the educational campaign related to the handbook 

included explanations of ozone formation, which were very 

successful with students. Also popular among children were 

activities involving the Internet. Environmental games worked 

well as a communications tool for camp children. 

4.3.2 HOW DOES THE NORTHEAST 

OHIO PROJECT COMMUNICATE 

URBAN GROWTH MODELING TO 

THE PUBLIC? 

A handbook and a Web site are two key communication tools 

used by the Northeast Ohio Project to communicate urban 

sprawl issues, as discussed below. 

4.3.2.1 URBAN SPRAWL IN NORTHEAST

OHIO HANDBOOK 

Applying the framework of the air quality handbook, EDC cre­


ated a second teaching tool, Urban Sprawl in Northeast Ohio:


A Handbook for Educators and Their Students in Grades 4–8.


The design of this handbook is similar to that of the air quality


handbook. Teachers reviewed and commented on drafts of the


urban sprawl handbook before EDC finalized it. Figure 4-2. The Northeast Ohio Project’s air


quality handbook. 

The sprawl outreach and education efforts focused on Cuyahoga


County. This is because Cuyahoga contains Cleveland, the biggest city in northeast Ohio and the one for


which the most local, relevant information (e.g., historical growth data) was available. Using this informa­


tion, EDC was able to include examples and activities directly related to the city in the handbook. A sample


activity from the urban sprawl handbook is a role-playing activity in which a fictional growth scenario (“You


live in a small community where a developer would like to put a shopping mall”) is presented and students


are assigned various roles within a community. One role might be that of a local shop owner who does not


want additional commercial competition; another might be that of a town official who would like to bring


additional money and tourists to the area. The students play out the scenario, learning that there is not nec­


essarily a right or wrong solution to the situation and that sprawl is a complicated issue.


A section of the handbook covers the Urban Growth Simulator developed by Kent State University and


includes sections from the Urban Growth Simulator Self-Guided Workbook. (See Chapter 2 for a discussion of


the Simulator.)


As with the air quality handbook, 100 copies of the sprawl handbook were produced. Due to limited funds


for outreach, EDC will not be going into schools to conduct educational programs on sprawl, but is still


planning teacher meetings to introduce educators to both handbooks. For example, EDC met with teachers


from “gifted and talented” programs in 15 to 20 schools in Cuyahoga County in February 2002.


4.3.2.2 URBAN SPRAWL IN NORTHEAST OHIO WEB SITE 

Another means of communicating the issues of urban sprawl to the public is the EMPACT: Urban Sprawl in 

Northeast Ohio Web site, hosted by Kent State University (http://gis.kent.edu/gis/empact/). This Web site 

provides an overview of issues related to sprawl and includes background on the usefulness and creation of 

urban growth models. It also links to the Urban Growth Simulator, through which users can view different 

potential growth scenarios for their community. (See Chapter 2 for more information on urban growth 

modeling and this Web site.) 

4-4 Chapter 4
4.3.3 THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT’S MEDIA CAMPAIGN 

In addition to outreach specific to the Project’s air quality monitoring and urban growth modeling efforts, a 

general media campaign was undertaken to inform people of the existence of the program. The media campaign included bus boards, PSAs, news releases, development of a logo and mascot, a promotional brochure, 

and a Web site, as described below. 

4.3.3.1 BUS BOARD CAMPAIGN 

Thanks to the cooperation of transit authorities in the 

Cleveland-Akron area, over 270 buses were outfitted with 

boards carrying the message, “News You Can Use: Your Air, 

Your Health, Your Environment.” (See Figure 4-3.) As part of 

the bus board design, a mascot named Abee pointed to the 

Web site address (http://EMPACT.nhlink.net). (Abee is described 

in Section 4.3.4.2.) While ultimately successful, bus board 

development took longer than expected. The Communications 

Workgroup learned that it is important to give transit authorities enough time (4 to 6 weeks) to develop bus board programs. 

4.3.3.2 PUBLIC SERVICE

ANNOUNCEMENTS 

Radio PSAs were developed by EDC and broadcast on 28 radio


stations. The PSAs were 10-, 15-, 20-, and 30-second versions of


the same basic announcement, each describing the Project in a


different degree of detail. Most of the stations carrying the PSAs


were FM stations, but Cleveland’s most popular station, an AM


station that covers sports, also aired the announcements.


A PSA for television, written and produced by EDC, was also


part of the outreach campaign. EDC originally planned to pro- Figure 4-3. Bus board displayed on


duce this television announcement using a private vendor. After Cleveland-Akron transit authority buses.


learning it would cost between $5,000 and $6,000 to create this


one piece, EDC went to the four major networks in the greater Cleveland area (NBC, FOX, ABC, and


WUAB) to see if any would be willing to sponsor the PSA. All four networks offered to produce the com­


mercial for free, but each wanted sole use of the commercial. The Coalition chose NBC because they offered


the most extensive package—two interviews and a Web link as well as the announcement itself.


The PSA aired on the local NBC affiliate throughout the summer, mostly in the afternoons and on week-


ends. It took about 1 day to film the PSA’s segments and 1 day to edit them into a single announcement.


The two interviews were held on NBC’s “Noon News” program, which airs between 12:00 and 12:30 p.m.


on weekdays. The interviews lasted about 5 to 6 minutes and were also shown throughout the summer. The


second interview included Abee, the mascot. NBC added a link from its Web site to the Northeast Ohio


Project’s Web page.


4.3.3.3 NEWS RELEASES 

A series of news releases was developed and distributed to over 100 media outlets (including television, radio, 

and print publications) in the greater Cleveland area via an in-house electronic fax system. An additional 20 

major print publications and TV stations received copies via postal mail. The releases announced the 

Northeast Ohio Project’s Web site and information provided by the project; the Regional Transit Authority 

bus board campaign; the school outreach programs; and Abee, the Northeast Ohio Project mascot. 

Communications Project 4-5
4.3.3.4 OUTCOME OF THE MEDIA CAMPAIGN 

Overall, the media campaign was successful, but not as widespread as originally planned due to the limited 

availability of personnel. The Northeast Ohio Project’s educational outreach programs run by EDC staff 

were in higher demand than expected (see Section 4.4), leaving less staff time to focus on media outreach. 

4.3.4 WHAT PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS WERE CREATED,

AND HOW WERE THEY DISTRIBUTED? 

4.3.4.1 PROJECT LOGO 

To increase visual recognition of the program, the Northeast 

Ohio Project created a logo (Figure 4-4), which was featured on 

all of the Project’s handbooks, brochures, Web sites, and promotional items. 

4.3.4.2 MASCOT NAMED ABEE 

A mascot was also produced as part of outreach efforts to younger 

audiences. Named Abee (Always Breathe EasiEr), this friendly 

green dinosaurian character (Figure 4-5) often wears the 

Northeast Ohio Project’s logo on her chest. Abee appeared on 

local television stations, at schools, and at EarthFest 2000, where 

she greeted dignitaries such as the Secretary of Health and 

Human Services and a congressman. The mascot was also prominently featured in each of the educational handbooks. She also 

appeared (often along with the logo) on magnets, t-shirts, and a 

hand stamp, which were handed out at events such as EarthFest. 

Abee helped create project recognition: people recognized her and 

associated the promotional materials with the Project after meeting 

her at community events. 

4.3.4.3 PROMOTIONAL BROCHURE 

The Northeast Ohio Project also developed a promotional 

brochure that describes the Project’s three components: real-time 

air quality monitoring, urban sprawl modeling, and community 

outreach activities. This color, glossy brochure describes various 

ways for people to obtain the information available on the 

Project’s Web site. Approximately 25,000 brochures were produced and distributed to county libraries, Northeast Ohio Project 

partners, universities, the Ohio Department of Recreation, 

camps, schools, and transit authorities participating in the bus 

board program. 

4.3.4.4 PROJECT WEB SITE 

Figure 4-4. Logo developed for the 

Northeast Ohio Project. 

The Northeast Ohio Project’s Web site (http://EMPACT.nhlink.net) Figure 4-5. The Northeast Ohio Project’s 

Abee mascot. 

summarizes the Project’s initiatives and links to all three project


components (air, communications, sprawl), as well as the EPA home


page and the Web pages of partner organizations. The Project’s Web site is hosted on a local server, the


Neighborhood Link. (The Neighborhood Link is a partnership between the City of Cleveland, Cleveland


State University, Ameritech, and the Neighborhood Centers Association. It was designed pro bono by the


firm Luttner and Yachannin Advertising.) Note that the Web site is available at all Cleveland public


libraries, recreation centers, and neighborhood computer centers.


4-6 Chapter 4 
4.4 MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF THE OUTREACH 

CAMPAIGN 

One of the best ways to measure success is to establish goals at the outset of a project and then determine 

whether they were reached. The Northeast Ohio Project’s Communications Workgroup did just this. 

The Workgroup used the community survey (see Section 4.2) to identify the needs of the community and 

the methods by which the target audience receives its information. As a direct result of those findings, bus 

boards were placed on the routes identified as hotspots or environmental justice neighborhoods likely to 

include the target audience. 

Results from the survey also showed that target populations are very trusting of the medical community and 

get most of their health information from hospitals, doctors, and health organizations. Therefore, the 

Communications Health Workgroup developed a medical brochure (see Section 4.3.1.1) that was placed in 

hospitals and doctor’s offices to maximize its availability to the target audience. Thus the initial survey 

helped the Project increase its credibility for community members. 

The success of the educational programs was fairly easy to determine by the enthusiastic response from both 

schools and camps. The original plan was to conduct the program in four schools. Due to the program’s 

popularity, however, EDC ended up running it in eight schools, plus recreation centers and camps, reaching 

more than 1,500 children aged 9 to 13. Teachers and camp counselors are still requesting the return of the 

program and speakers. Unfortunately, funding is currently unavailable to run the program. The handbooks 

are available, however, and teachers continue to use them. 

Teachers commented that they would like to see more programs like the air quality program. It was this 

response that encouraged EDC to create the urban sprawl handbook. When EDC approached educators 

about reviewing that handbook, the teachers were eager to participate and provide comments. 

The Northeast Ohio Project’s Web site received its maximum number of “hits” (visits to the site) when the 

media and Regional Transit Authority bus board outreach were being conducted, indicating that these campaigns were successful. Since that time, hits have declined somewhat. 

4.5 LESSONS LEARNED IN THE NORTHEAST OHIO 

COMMUNICATIONS PROJECT 

4.5.1 DIVERSE MEMBERSHIP HELPS CREATE AN EFFECTIVE 

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 

The diversity of members in the Communications Workgroup helped to ensure that a range of viewpoints 

from the community and other stakeholders was heard and included in decision-making. The Workgroup’s 

diversity produced some differences of opinion about what specifically should be communicated. The group 

therefore spent time, before launching the outreach campaign, coming to a common decision on a clear 

message. The fact that they reached this early consensus—that air pollution, particularly ozone and its 

health effects, is a priority concern—was helpful throughout the outreach project. Designating a lead organization to develop ideas and present them to the group also helped create consistency and stability. 

4.5.2 DEVELOPING EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ON INNOVATIVE 

TOPICS LIKE URBAN SPRAWL IS CHALLENGING BUT 

WORTHWHILE 

Gathering information and developing educational activities on urban sprawl for children in grades 4 through 

8 can be challenging because little information is available about this topic for this age group. The topic of 

urban sprawl may be more appropriate for older students, but EDC was mandated to develop a single 

handbook targeted to the same grade levels as those covered by the air quality handbook. Furthermore, 

teachers felt that while sprawl is a difficult concept for children, it is a worthwhile topic to explore. 

Communications Project 4-7 
EDC therefore spent time finding relevant educational activities, resulting in the project taking longer than 

expected. Ultimately, EDC chose activities on related topics—e.g., associated environmental issues such as 

air pollution and water quality—and added urban sprawl components to these activities. 

When communicating innovative topics, emphasizing key concepts that may not be intuitive can be important. For example, for the topic of urban sprawl, it was important to convey that sprawl can and often does 

occur in areas of no or low population growth (e.g., Cuyahoga County). The concept that land use for 

development is outpacing population growth may be a difficult but important one for many people (including children) to grasp. 

4.5.3 DEVELOP LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARTNER 

ORGANIZATIONS 

If possible, rather than simply dropping off literature at various organizations, try to develop longer term 

relationships with partner groups and others using your materials. For instance, EDC found that developing 

relationships with schools and camps was an effective outreach strategy. 

4.5.4 CONSIDER DEVELOPING OUTREACH MATERIALS IN 

MULTIPLE LANGUAGES 

EDC received numerous requests for their materials to be translated into Spanish and Chinese. When planning your project, consider developing materials in more than one language, especially if your audience is 

multiethnic. 

4-8 Chapter 4
5 Conclusion 

I

n summary, the Northeast Ohio Project focuses on three areas: urban sprawl, air quality, and public 

outreach related to the environmental risks associated with sprawl and poor air quality. The Project’s 

urban growth model provides a tool for examining the environmental impacts of sprawl (such as 

increased traffic, which contributes to unhealthy air pollutant levels) and identifies possible growth scenarios that communities can implement to reduce such impacts. Urban sprawl and its ecological and human 

health effects make up a rapidly growing and changing field of study. A Web search on “urban sprawl” will 

reveal numerous articles and sites about this topic on local and national scales. 

The Northeast Ohio Project’s near-real-time measurements of regional air quality let residents know when 

air quality is poor; people can then choose to avoid or minimize certain activities that may increase their 

health risk on days with poor air quality. Finally, the numerous communications and outreach materials 

developed by the Project, such as Web sites, brochures, and logos, successfully inform area residents of the 

urban growth modeling tools and air quality information available through the Northeast Ohio Project. 

Communities in other areas of the country may want to consider developing similar regional programs. 

For more information about the Northeast Ohio Project, email Dan Petersen at 

Petersen.Dan@epamail.epa.gov or Stephen Goranson at Goranson.Stephen@epamail.epa.gov. 

Conclusion 5-1
APPENDIX A


Project Survey of Northeast Ohio Residents

Survey of Northeast Ohio Residents

Age: 

I. Open-ended questions 

1. What issues are you concerned about ( e.g., household/maintenance, economy, natural 

resources)? 

2. Does your child or someone in your family have a persistent cough? 

II. Health questions 

3. Is your health: xcellent ood air oor 

4. Does anyone in your family have asthma? Who: Sex: 

female 

How long? 

What are the symptoms? 

Do symptoms change with: a) time of day: Yes o If yes, then when is it 

worse? 

b) where you are: 

If yes to asthma: have you seen a doctor about this? Yes No 

Are you currently getting medical help? Yes No 

5. Does anyone in your family have other breathing problems? 

Who: Sex: Age: 

female 

How long? 

What are the symptoms? 

Do symptoms change with: a) time of day: Yes o If yes, then when is it 

worse? 

b) where you are: 

If yes to other breathing problems: have you seen a doctor about this? Yes o 

Are you currently getting medical help? Yes o 

E G F P

male 

N

indoors outdoors 

male 

N

indoors outdoors 

N

N

Appendix A A-1
III. How aware are you? 

7. How good is the air in your neighborhood? (check one): 

Excellent ood air oor ad 

8. Over the past 5 years has the air quality in your neighborhood been improving or 

getting worse? Is it: 

Much better Better About the same A little worse Worse 

9. What are the things that contribute to how clean or dirty the air is in your neighbor 

hood? Such as: 

business and industry 

traffic congestion 

availability of parks and open space 

illegal trash dumping 

hospital/other incinerators 

powerlessness due to low or medium income level 

ethnicity/race 

political commitment to environmental issues 

other (what?) 

10. In your opinion, is there a link between air pollution and your family’s health? 

Yes o Specific comments: 

11. In your opinion, is there a link between indoor air pollution and your family’s health? 

Yes o Specific comments: 

Does anyone in your family get colds, have a cough? Who: ex: 

Age: ow long? 

Do symptoms change with: Yes o If yes, then when is it 

worse? 

b) where you are: 

If yes to colds, cough: have you seen a doctor about this? Yes o 

Are you currently getting medical help? Yes o 

6. 

What are the symptoms? 

G F P B

N

N

S male female 

H

a) time of day: N

indoors or outdoors 

N

N

A-2 Appendix A
IV. How informed are you? 

12. Where do you get information about community issues? 

13. How often do you talk to your doctor, clinic, or health professional? 

14. What are your sources of general information? 

Ask about each type: Ask specific outlet/name: How often? 

(#1 = primary; #2 = used 

daily, #3 = used 3x/week) 

#1 #2 #3 

TV 

radio 

newspapers 

Internet 

community meetings 

word of mouth 

800 number 

other 

15. Do you have computer Internet access? Yes o Where ? 

16. Do you use the Internet for medical or other information? Yes No 

17. Would you like to get day-to-day information on outdoor air quality? Yes No 

18. In what form should we give it to you (e.g., TV, print-brochure, radio, etc.)? 

19. If we brought outdoor air quality information to you to help you better predict your 

asthma attacks, would your activities and quality of life change? Yes No 

How? 

N

Appendix A A-3
V. Personal information 

Name ex: male 

Family figure: mother/father ent 

Which neighborhood esidence in the last 5 years: Yes o 

Are you interested in attending a small group meeting in your neighborhood? Yes No 

If yes: ddress ip 

Phone: (h) (w) 

Would you be willing to name your general income level: 

above $10,000 ve $20,000 ve $40,000 ve $60,000 

Age S female 

grandpar other 

R N

A City Z

abo abo abo

A-4 Appendix A