Land-Use Control

Government and judicial bodies usually attempt to make land-use policies responsive to emerging concerns and developing needs. Conflicts result from situations in which localities attempt to block or ignore those needs or from situations in which the response is challenged as an overextension of the police power. The complexity of urban problems and the growth of urban areas place constant tension on the land-use process.

Nor is it just the urban land-use that causes tension between the government and landowners. Decisions to set aside undeveloped or rural land for governmental use causes controversy as well. An example of this practice is the decision by the federal government in 2002 to set aside Yucca Mountain in Nevada for storing the nation's nuclear waste. Various landowners and Native American tribes, as well as the state of Nevada, have filed lawsuits attempting to stop this use of Yucca Mountain. With the population of states such as Nevada growing rapidly, resulting in a decrease of available land, these wrangles over land-use are anticipated to become more frequent.