Most of our lives take place in physical space. We live in homes and work in office or industrial buildings (or, for that matter, in homes). Our lives are further shaped by decisions about the location and design of everything from power plants to agriculture. Land use law regulates what goes where, affecting nearly every aspect of social and economic activity. This course will examine how that regulation proceeds, legally, as well as the effects of current regulatory approaches and contemporary fights over land use policy.
We will discuss the leading approaches to planning and zoning available to municipalities and the political and administrative mechanisms used to implement them: i.e. how can land be used, and who decides? We will also study important forms of public land use regulation outside of zoning, such as building codes, subdivision regulations, environmental review, and historic preservation. While much of our focus will be on local land use regulation, we will also consider other actors, including the role of the state and national governments in land use and private alternatives to public land use regulation. Other topics may include the relationship between local revenue sources and land use and the limitations on land use regulation imposed by the federal and state constitutions, including with respect to takings and exclusionary zoning. Throughout, we will examine the historical roots and present-day stakes of these legal choices.