Land Use Law

This course will explore the regulation of land use. It will focus on controls established and administered by local governments but will also consider the role of states and federal authorities. The course will address the basic elements of the land development and regulation process and explore the variety of legal structures and doctrines that channel that process. We will also address public ownership and private alternatives to regulation; the effects of localities’ regulation of land use on the economic, social, environmental and other quality-of-life dimensions of our daily experience; and the relationship of local land use policies to national and global issues, including economic growth, climate change, and social justice.