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The MPO
Wants to Know...

Iowa is the only state
in the U.S. bordered
by two navigable
rivers (Iowa DOT).

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Land Use

While the MPO is not a land use planning agency, we do consider land use issues when conducting our planning activities. The MPO worked with metropolitan area planning directors to define generalized land use classifications in order to create a comprehensive future land use map for the area. The intent of developing these classifications and the accompanying map is not to suggest changes to any land use plan; rather, the intent is to develop a template for the metropolitan area to consistently map the land use plans of all governments. The generalized land use classifications include:

Agricultural: Cropland and farmsteads, livestock areas, animal services, crop services, fish hatcheries, horticulture, and tree farms.

Estate Residential: Less than 1 unit per acre.
Single Family Residential: 1 to 6 units per acre.
Medium Density Residential: 6 to 10 units per acre.
High Density Residential: 10 to 16 units per acre.
Very High Density Residential: More than 16 units per acre.

Public Space/Institutional: City offices, libraries, colleges, universities, fire stations, and hospitals.

Park/Open Space/Floodway: Parks, green space, trails, recreational areas, and areas protected for environmental reasons.

Local Commercial: Pedestrian accessibly entities; Retail mix with some offices and restaurants; more compact, used daily.
Community Commercial: Draws people into the area from many miles away, typically accessibly only by car.

Light Industrial: Warehouses, light manufacturing and assembly, and contractor facilities.
Heavy Industrial: Mines, quarries, cement and asphalt plants, and hazardous material and petroleum storage.

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420 Watson Powell, Jr., Way, Suite 200, Des Moines, Iowa 50309 - P. (515) 334-0075 - F. (515) 334-0098 - E. dmampo@dmampo.org

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