The hottest Land use Substack posts right now

Not everything can be the best use of time and energy, prioritizing tasks is necessary to achieve goals efficiently.
When advocating for housing reform, it's important to consider the trade-offs between policies with political power and those that directly impact housing production and affordability.
In the realm of housing policies, prioritizing ADUs, mid-rise housing, and transit-oriented development can lead to significant positive impacts on housing availability and affordability.

Growing biofuels in the US is a poor use of land, especially when solar energy needs much less land and could power the country three times over.
Biofuels may not have as positive an impact on the environment as initially assumed, with some studies suggesting they could increase emissions.
Switching from biofuels to solar power for electric cars in the US could significantly reduce land use and still meet transportation needs.

Biofuels may require four to five times more land than currently used, impacting food production
Current global biofuel production is only a fraction of aviation fuel demand
Decarbonizing aviation with biofuels could be costly due to land use and production challenges

Majority of Americans prefer large houses in communities with amenities farther away.
Polls should not be the sole basis for determining policy decisions.
There is a political challenge in addressing the desire for more walkable neighborhoods.

Air behaves like a fluid and follows laws of fluid dynamics, crucial for weather forecasting and climate modeling.
Adding the water cycle to simulations was complex due to phase changes of water, but approximations were used to model convection and rain interaction with land.
Research shows that land plays a significant role in precipitation recycling, affecting rain patterns globally, and maps have been created to illustrate this relationship.

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YIMBYs advocate for expanding US housing supply, but removing private housing development restrictions may not be the solution.
There is a significant shift on the Left towards supporting pro-density public policy for affordable housing.
Economists like Ed Glaeser and Matt Yglesias argue that restrictive land-use policies hinder affordable housing in big cities.