Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1982

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Geography

Major Professor

Charles S. Aiken

Committee Members

Thomas Bell, Ronald Foresta

Abstract

Rural residential subdivisions are important features of the rural landscape in Loudon County, Tennessee. The objectives of this study are to trace the development of rural subdivisions, to classify them, and to determine the types of residents that they attracted. Loudon County was chosen as the study area because it is a rural county and is adjacent to the Knoxville Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Loudon County contains 112 rural subdivisions. The first one was begun in 1923, but large-scale development of subdivisions did not commence until the 1950's. The 1960's was the decade when most subdivisions were started, and development of them continued through the 1970's. Because of the time-lag between sale of lots and construction of dwellings, most of the houses in the rural subdivisions were built in the 1970's. Much of Loudon County's recent population growth and redistribution is associated with rural subdivisions.

Lot sizes, numbers of lots, house values, and build-out rates are examined in tracing the development of rural subdivisions. Five types of subdivisions are identified. Developments on the shore of a lake are "lakeside" and those with large lots are "farm partitions." The remaining subdivisions are classified by road pattern into "existing-road," "single-road," and "complex-road." Generally, the early developments— existing road, single-road, and farm partitions—contain low quality dwellings and small numbers of lots and have low rates of build-out. The lakeside and complex-road subdivisions are more recent and sophisticated and have greater numbers of lots, better quality houses, and higher rates of build-out.

Characteristics of residents are assessed for each of the subdivision types. The characteristics include: average family income, average age of head of household, location of previous residence, location of place of employment, and the year in which the family moved into the subdivision. Interviews were conducted with 148 residents in 24 subdivisions. Average family income, average age of head of household, and percent of residents who work in Knox County have high correlations with the percent of residents who moved to the rural subdivisions from Knox County. Existing-road, single-road, and complex-road subdivisions have high percentages of residents who moved into the developments from other parts of Loudon County. They also contain high percentages of young residents who work in the county. Lakeside subdivisions contain high percentages of affluent, older residents who came from Knox County. Farm partitions exhibit great variations in the characteristics of the residents.

This study demonstrates that in Loudon County, Tennessee, rural subdivisions have aided in the redistribution of the local population. The rural subdivisions are not exurbs because they primarily attracted local residents and because most residents are not tied to Knoxville by employment. This study should be of value to geographers, planners, and others interested in rural population redistribution and the provision of public services in rural areas. Additional studies in other areas are needed to better understand rural residential subdivision development and its impact on rural America.

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