Land Use Prof Blog

Sustainable Development Code on land use and race

The Sustainable Development Code (SDC) has identified several land use provisions that may have racial impacts. "Local governments can use this list as a resource and exam whether the provisions are having a deleterious impact on minorities. This list, while not all-encompassing and focusing solely on development codes, represents what we hope to be the beginning of a conversation to form safer, more inclusive, and more equitable communities."

The full list can be found at:

https://mailchi.mp/bfad48cfe858/sustainable-development-code-lists-land-use-provisions-that-can-exacerbate-racial-bias

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition (Virtual)

The first annual Elisabeth Haub School of Law Environmental Law & Policy Hack Competition is going virtual.  Law school teams are invited to submit a proposal that analyzes and develops a policy response to a knotty environmental challenge (this year, the design and implementation of climate-friendly vegetative spaces).  The deadline to register is September 1, 2020 and team proposals are due on October 1, 2020.  We will award the winning team $2,000 to be used toward implementation of their proposed policy.  Additional information, including the official competition rules and inaugural problem, are available on our website.

Mandelker on substantive due process claims in the land use litigation process

Daniel Mandelker recently published "Litigating Land Use Cases in Federal Court:  A Substantive Due Process Primer" in the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Journal.  The article is available here:

Download Mandelker Article Final

Here is the editor's summary:

This Article argues that land use plaintiffs should have access to federal courts when they can claim that abusive governmental decisions violate their substantive due process rights. Traditionally, land use plaintiffs have faced many hurdles in getting their cases into federal court. This Article shows how courts can provide effective constitutional relief in land use cases involving governmental abuse. This Article discusses major hurdles that land use plaintiffs traditionally face when bringing a case in federal court, including the entitlement rule, the ripeness barrier, and Graham preemption. The entitlement rule means that a plaintiff must have an entitlement to property before she can bring a substantive due process claim. The ripeness barrier requires a plaintiff in a takings case to obtain a final decision from the local government before bringing a takings claim in federal court. Graham preemption prevents a court from hearing a substantive due process case if the case could have been brought under a more specific constitutional clause, such as the takings clause.
This Article concludes with a discussion of the appropriate standard of review that should be applied in land use substantive due process cases. The Article rejects the shocks the conscious standard applied by the Supreme Court in influential Fourth Amendment cases as the appropriate standard and goes on to discuss the inconsistency of standards applied within circuits to other substantive due process cases. The Article ends with an analysis of the “arbitrary conduct” standard of judicial review applied when municipalities engaged in abusive conduct in land use cases.

CFP: COVID-19 AND CITIES. BUILDING RESILIENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

JOINT CALL FOR PAPERS & WEBINAR

COVID-19 AND CITIES. BUILDING RESILIENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

On July 15^th at 8:30 am EST, the Global Pandemic Network (GPN) in partnership with UN-Habitat will be holding a webinar – Covid-19 and Cities, Building Resilience on Human Rights and Environmental Protection. Presentations will be given on the following topics:  (1) Covid-19, Cities and the Environment; (2) Covid-19, Cities and Climate Change; (3) Covid-19, Cities and Sustainability; (4) Covid-19, Cities and Governance.

GPN collects global responses to COVID-19 and its legacy, prompts debate and enables knowledge-sharing among high-level academic institutions worldwide, spurring cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research collaborations. To learn more about the GPN, register for the webinar, and join a working group, visit www.globalpandemicnetwork.org.

In conjunction with GPN and UN-Habitat, the Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy (Georgia State University College of Law) and The International Journal of Human Rights (Taylor & Francis online) will be accepting submissions from working groups and others outside the network within three focus areas:  (1) COVID-19, Cities and the Environment; (2) COVID-19, Cities and Governance; and (3) COVID-19, Cities and Human Rights.  The submission deadline is December 15, 2020.

See more details on the Call for Papers below.

Download Joint Call for Papers - GPN & UN Habitat