This course is designed to give you a better understanding of the legal and administrative framework used to regulate land use at various levels of government, and the relationship of the planner to the law. We will cover basic legal procedures as well as statutory and regulatory materials relating to zoning, urban renewal and eminent domain, regulatory takings, inclusionary housing, historic preservation, and environmental law.
Politics, economics and social norms play a critical role in the use and development of land, often adapting or even flouting the “law on the books.” Although principally concerned with the official legal rules governing of land uses, this course also will examine the interplay of formal and informal controls in shaping land use patterns.