The Regulated Landscape: Lessons on State Land Use Planning from Oregon

"The Regulated Landscape" is an excellent book that details the state of Oregon's experiments with broad, state level attempts to control land-use. Knaap and Nelson are two long time participants of the debates that accompanied the rise of state sponsored attempts to control landscapes during the 1960s and 1970s. While the book they have produced here may be specific to the Oregon example, it does contain information that is applicable to many other regions (such as my own area of study; British Columbia) across the continent. Most notable in this regard is the section on the politics of land use planning. The authors identify the various schools of thought that have contributed to the debate of the last 30-35 years (Structuralist, Institutionalist and Marxist) and seek to debunk some of the myths that have arisen. Such as the belief that the "class based theory of growth politics" may not be appropriate as a defining motive for the state to assume control of land use planning. Regardless of your own beliefs on this subject I highly recommend this book! Even if you are not entirely interested in Oregon, the bibliography that has been provided can be used to identify some of the other major contributions and contributors (be it in book form, articles, or government publications) to the issue of land use. Enjoy!