All articles tagged with #land use
Decades after a farming family deeded 87 acres to the City of Taylor for a public park, the city sold the land to Blueprint for $10 million in 2025, and it is slated to become a 135,000-square-foot data center, sparking heartbreak for longtime residents who used the land for generations.
A NASA-funded analysis of 35 years of Landsat data finds that human-driven disturbances in the continental U.S. have declined since the late 1980s, while wild disturbances such as wildfires and hurricanes have increased, shifting the dominant forces shaping U.S. landscapes and underscoring the need for disaster-informed planning.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a housing plan to address inequitable growth, proposing land-use changes and citywide zoning reforms to spur residential development in low-producing neighborhoods, accelerate transit‑oriented housing, and aim for 200,000 affordable homes over 10 years, using tools from the Adams era and creating a fast-track review for 12 identified districts as vacancy remains at a multi-decade low.
Box Elder County voters filed a land-use referendum to potentially overturn the county commission’s unanimous decision to include private land in a Military Installation Development Authority hyperscale data center project. The legality is being reviewed by the county attorney; if permitted, the referendum would require signatures from about 16% of active registered voters (roughly 5,422) across the county to appear on the ballot.
The Commanders’ proposed stadium at the RFK campus is detailed in a 35-page submission to the National Capital Planning Commission, focusing on how the project fits the surrounding area and meets legal requirements. The document does not include design specifics such as seating, food service, or field surface, but offers a broad overview with highlights and a link to the full document for review.
Astronauts captured a striking checkerboard pattern in Idaho's forests from space, revealing the long-term impact of 19th-century forestry practices that used a systematic grid for sustainable timber harvesting and regeneration, visible especially under snow and spanning about five miles.
A new study reveals that 60% of Earth's land has exceeded safe ecological limits, primarily due to human activity like land conversion and biomass use, with significant impacts on climate and ecosystems, especially in Europe, Asia, and North America. The research emphasizes the urgent need for global biosphere protection and integrated climate policies.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced that the state is offering land to the incoming Trump administration for mass deportation facilities, as part of "Jocelyn's Initiative," named after a girl killed by undocumented immigrants. The initiative aims to prevent similar tragedies by facilitating the deportation of violent criminals. The Texas General Land Office has identified 1,400 acres in Starr County for potential use, with plans to build a detention center specifically for processing deportations.
A study published in Nature Communications reveals that agricultural grassland use accelerates entire ecosystems, affecting organisms at all levels and across food chains. The research shows that intensive agricultural practices lead to faster organisms dominating ecosystems, impacting functions such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. While this may increase agricultural productivity, it reduces carbon storage and biodiversity, making ecosystems less resilient. Urgent countermeasures are needed to address the accelerating impact of intensive agriculture on ecosystems worldwide.
Apple supplier Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai, has stated that it will cooperate with Chinese authorities in ongoing investigations into tax audits and land use of its subsidiaries. The world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, which assembles products like Apple's iPhones, emphasized its commitment to legal compliance. The investigations come as Foxconn founder Terry Gou seeks to become Taiwan's next president, amid tensions between Beijing and the self-governed island.
Residents of Maui, Hawaii, are expressing anger and frustration over the direction of early wildfire recovery efforts, questioning the actions of Governor Josh Green. The distrust in the government is particularly affecting the Native Hawaiian community, who fear that their hard-won rights could be eroded by emergency proclamations. The proclamations have suspended environmental and cultural reviews, as well as water code regulations, raising concerns about land use and water rights. The issue has become so contentious that the chief housing officer resigned due to threats against her family. Lawsuits have been filed challenging the governor's emergency proclamations, arguing that they go too far in suspending land-use and environmental laws.
Scientists studying sediment cores from the Gulf of Saint Eufemia in Italy have used pollen analysis to track the colonization of Italy by Greeks and Romans over the past 5,000 years. The analysis revealed three distinct phases of vegetation: dense forest cover, forest decline and aridity, and deforestation with intensive agriculture. These patterns were closely linked to the communities living in the area at the time, with evidence of climate change impacting the vegetation. The final phase of widespread deforestation coincided with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the region. This study highlights the importance of palynology in understanding the impact of human occupation and climate change on plant communities.
The demand for data centers has rapidly increased due to changing work habits during the pandemic and the growth of cloud-based technologies. However, finding enough land to build a data center and sufficient electricity to run it can be a challenge. Developers must address community concerns about these behemoth buildings, which are popping up next to housing developments and straining local electricity providers that have struggled to keep up with the demand. The industry is trying to find greater efficiencies to lessen the demand for energy, and as major players in the data industry strive to become greener in the next decade, the pressure is on.
Russia has accused the Czech government of an "illegal" move after it cancelled Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in Prague and other cities. The Czech government has rescinded orders granting Russia the use of dozens of plots of lands in the 1970s and 1980s by the country's then Communist rulers, saying Moscow would now have to pay to lease the land. Russia has pledged to take measures to defend its own interests, including legal action.
The Czech government has cancelled Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in Prague and other cities, and Russia will now have to pay leases to use the land. This move is a further step in a more than two-year diplomatic spat with Moscow worsened by the war in Ukraine. Prague has accused Russian intelligence agents of being behind explosions at an arms depot in the Czech Republic in 2014, leading it to drastically reduce staff at the Russian embassy.