A risk assessment of landscape hazards for building sites in the Front Range mountains of Colorado: Fid-Bau Portal

A risk assessment of landscape hazards for building sites in the Front Range mountains of Colorado

Burley, Jon Bryan / Burley, Cheryl J.

Predictive spatial modelling is becoming an integral part of landscape planning. One emerging modelling approach is risk assessment. This paper illustrates the application of risk assessment techniques within a regional context for landscape planning and design, as urban development expands into mountainous building environments. The investigation examines the susceptibility of building sites in a portion of the Front Range mountains of Colorado/Wyoming to catastrophic disturbance by four landscape hazards: flooding, rockfall, fire and avalanche. A hazard rating model is applied to a portion of the Front Range, the Pingree Park vicinity, by employing geographic information system technology. We discovered that, below the tree‐line, approximately 75% of the landscape contained a high risk rating and the remaining portion a moderate risk rating. This study implies that there is no long‐term, safe building site in the study area. Assuming that the Pingree Park vicinity is a representative sample of the Front Range, our results would indicate that the long‐term prospects for structures in the mountainous region of Colorado are not particularly promising; however, much more extensive study would be required before a definitive answer could be derived. Nevertheless, this investigation illustrates the basic principles and presents essential literature for landscape risk assessment planning.