Future Land Use: Energy, Environmental, and Legal Constraints

Housing in the United States appears to be constantly in the throes of "crises." The public perception of American domestic crises (including housing) does not reflect changes in real conditions as much as it reflects a cycle of heightened public interest followed by boredom with the issue in question. As one tries to envision the future of housing in the US, one must not develop a trend based upon the temporary vagaries of the moment. In this volume, the editors discuss the long-term elements that serve to define the matrix within which future housing markets must operate. Future Land Use depicts the underlying stability and consistency of American life; the long-term socio-demographic trends; the alternative living arrangements that seem to be emerging; the new attitudes toward urban growth and their legal manifestation; the limitations imposed by the environmental movement; the considerations imposed by a changing energy supply; and the dilemmas arising from the intersection of these trends and forces. Robert W. Burchell and David Listokin conclude that despite changing conditions, the long-term dream of owning a single-family house will still be a goal for most Americans. In a society in which the drafting of a press release may be much more important than its content, in which banners are used as surrogates for reality, how do we all come to grips with weighing and evaluating the parameters that must be considered? The immediate topic of the papers and discussion in Future Land Use raises a challenge for popular government and a clash between immediate comfort and longer-range need.