Land Use

This course will survey and evaluate the rules restricting the use of land and the various local ordinances, state statutes, and constitutional doctrines that limit such legal restrictions. We will explore whether and when public controls can improve on private market ordering. Specific issues will include zoning ordinances, subdivisions, aesthetic controls, land assembly, and regulatory takings. Apart from looking at the law, the course will emphasize economic and political theories relevant to the regulation of land and will provide a survey of the relevant literature. The course will explore two fundamental normative questions: who should control how land is used, and how should they do it?