Land Development : A Super-Wicked Environmental Problem

Land development belongs with climate change in the category of "super-wicked" environmental problems - that is, problems of extreme complexity that seem almost impossible to solve. Yet, to date, land development has not been granted that status in law and policy literature. Rather, scholars tend to study the symptoms of land development problems in isolation - dirty water, polluted air, and species loss, to name a few examples. Society must begin treating the disease of these environmental problems, and not just the symptoms. This article frames land development as a super-wicked environmental problem and details a typology of factors that make it such a difficult problem to solve. Only after understanding land development "wickedness" and what drives it can we develop more effective solutions to address it