Towards Land Recyclability

"The United States needs a different kind of land reform. It needs reform that responds to big global challenges that suddenly loom, among them: climate change, volatile energy prices and the need for efficiency in a faltering economy."

"...nearly all of our current laws, regulations and economic incentives tip the balance in favor of new construction on undeveloped land at the metropolitan edge, whereas the global challenges mentioned above suggest the need for quite the opposite: a recycling of land already developed."

"Unless the rules are made more balanced, land development will proceed in the same old way when the economy revives. Those same old ways damage the environment, waste resources, hamper government efficiency, harm energy independence and ignore an emerging market segment that wants greater choices for compact living."