Land use changes: economic, social, and environmental impacts

Abstract

Land use provides many economic and social benefits but often comes at a substantial cost to the environment. Although most economic costs are figured into land use decisions, most environmental externalities are not. These environmental externalities cause a divergence between private and social costs for some land uses, leading to an inefficient land allocation. For example, developers may not bear all the environmental and infrastructure costs generated by their projects. Such market failures provide a justification for private conservation efforts and public land use planning and regulation.

Citation

Wu, J. 2008. Land use changes: economic, social, and environmental impacts. Choices. 23(4): 6-10.