Land-use conflict

A land-use conflict occurs when there are conflicting views on land-use policies, such as when an increasing population creates competitive demands for the use of the land, causing a negative impact on other land uses nearby.

Two common types of land-use conflicts in urban areas are residential industrial or residential-transport land-use conflicts. These can cause noise, air and water pollution. Apart from the noise and gases released by factories, pollution is also caused by the vehicles which carry materials to and from factories, which can cause incessant noises and smoke. Heavy road traffic also causes traffic congestion, affecting many nearby residents. In addition to factories, the presence of main roads also affects residents, causing the same problems as above.

Urban planning was poor or non-existent in the past. Both residential and industrial areas require convenient transport. Labour-intensive industries need to seek workers easily. As a result, residential and industrial areas are often close neighbours.

In Hong Kong, particularly in the old urban areas, this type of conflict is a common sight. In downtown Los Angeles, however, the problem is opposite. Industrial facilities are being converted to residential use, and the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles believes that this trend will cause a loss of job opportunities for unskilled workers.

Complaints about noise and odour emitted by agricultural land uses are rather common in places between the urban and rural areas and may cause the premature removal of land from agricultural use. Urban owners often complain that the odour or noise were not apparent at the time when the house was purchased. Producers argue that these differences occurred because of the weather conditions, and do not mean that they had changed what they were doing. Most farms have, in fact, in some ways reduced their odour. Moreover, spraying may cause a lot of noise, disturbing the nearby residents. As farmers often work at night-time or early in the morning, residents complain that the noise is disturbing their sleep.

Another major concern in such areas is the traffic. Heavy farming materials as well as materials for home construction are heavy and bulky, and therefore move somewhat slowly and cause traffic congestions. Crime in such fringes, particularly trespassing and vandalism, are also common, and affect both landowners and the producers.

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Wikipedia