Four Perspectives for Understanding Land Use Regulation in America

As an issue concerning the government, the different approaches to understanding the regulation of land use can be better understood through the light of major trends in the literature on public administration in America. Fundamental questions related to land use regulation have received different answers through the years. These questions are the counterpart of broader questions with philosophical and practical implications for a society. We discuss the basic dilemma that public administration faces regarding the regulation of land use. We examine how four perspectives – the liberal-judicial view, expert definition of public interest view, economic view, and social values as public interest – help scholars understand land use regulation in America. One theoretical model that could integrate the main ideas of these normative perspectives is the idea of urban field, which deals with the complexity of forces that are related to the idea of urban field.