English roots of common law;

Feudal commons (before widespread private ownership) and "Holding (tenure) in Common"

Problems of the commons: are they real? Do they continue today in other resources, like fisheries, public lands? Brief discussion of "Tragedy of the Commons" by biologist Garrett Hardin.

Ended in "enclosure" (Parliament started in 1235): often argued as organic result of post-Roman control (not unlike land redistribution problems after colonial rule ends in Africa and elsewhere).

Manor/Commons: Use guided by "customary rules and constraints," low population, agreed-upon limits: resulted in stability, but also rigidity.

This rigidity was not suited to the growth of markets, cities, industry (the industrial revolution started in Britain). Created a class of "workers" who did not need a plot of land to live off of, but needed housing.

Urban migration caused by industrialization raised the need to get cities better organized: Chartered Cities; Municipal Corps: exist; own land, establish courts, adopt ordinances to solve social problems of urbanization.

So, the US imported many of its land use laws from Britain:

Especially: Nuisance, and building codes, which grew out of London fire of 1666:

In any case, compensation ended up becoming a article in the U.S. Constitution ("Takings" clause), and we’ll talk more about it later.

"Mixed System" imported to U.S.