Land Use and Its Patterns in the United States

Report Preface: The purpose of the study reported here was to contribute to a more mature understanding of the patterns of rural land uses in the United States. The underlying physical factors are described, and their influence is explained in relation to major historical and still evolving institutional determinants of agricultural development and land use. The varied and unequal impacts of industrialization and of the continuing technological revolution within agriculture are emphasized. This report also demonstrates a methodology for research in land use that is applicable wherever men are concerned with improving the levels of human life through the development of agriculture. Students of agriculture everywhere, and in particular American students and professional agricultural workers, will find the report helpful in broadening their understanding of agricultural land problems. Students and professional workers in agricultural geography will be interested in the general methodological approach used and also in the graphic analysis and description. A pioneering feature of the report is the use of aerial photographs of 168 local areas with descriptive legends. This part of the report will interest many technical and professional students of agriculture and geography. In the preparation of the report, valuable cooperation was received from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The concern of this organization with improving the standards of human life through the development and improvement of agriculture in areas where the present level of agricultural production is low led to its interest in research methodology in land utilization in the United States as presented here.