Land Use and Society in America

by Deke Keasbey

Introduction

Land tenure – A historical overview

Land in America

Considerations in growth management

Demand for living space

Life cycles in residential communities

Urban land

Santa Monica – A case study in growth and rent control

In conclusion

For further reading

. . . previous section: Introduction

Land Tenure - A Historical Overview

Tenure is the manner in which property in land is held and used. The end of feudalism in Europe and elsewhere left the tenure of small landholders in an insecure position. Most of the land was held by nobles and other wealthy classes. Tenant farmers were subject to high rents, easy ejection, and no allowance for improvements. Thus there arose a response, by government and through the courts, to the demands of the peasantry to acquire small parcels. This process marked the beginnings of private property ownership by the citizenry. In America today, the concept of tenure is upheld in the law as individual ownership.

When the Constitution was created, America was a nation of farmers. Ninety percent of the people lived and worked on farms, most owning their own land. As cities grew in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Constitution itself proved flexible enough to weather the shift from agrarian to urban society with little change.

Land ownership played a key role in the shaping of American society. Eighteenth-century European society was tied to an aristocracy in which land was held by relatively few. America stood out in contrast. Land was cheap and readily available to anyone. The country's strength grew through its independent landowning farmers. Since they were connected to the land, they were more politically and economically responsible. A sense of personal responsibility encouraged U.S. citizens to achieve one of the highest literacy rates in the world.

The attraction to the continent's wide open spaces was too compelling to resist. The dedication to private land ownership has continued strongly since America was first settled. It could be said the Revolution itself was fought for private property.

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