The status of teaching on voluntary methods of land use control in planning curricula

Given the pace of land conservation in North America, the increasing Complexity of land protection transactions, the charged social and political scenarios that often attend restriction of development rights, and the impacts of land conservationon local taxation, it is clear that municipal planners should be conversant about methods for and implications of voluntary and conservation planning and practice. To evaluate the nature of teaching on these issues, we conducted a survey of accredited planning degree programs. Results suggest that among accredited planning education degree programs, there is significant room for improvement in quality and quantity of reaching about voluntary land conservation. Recommendations include making Some currently elective courses required and introducing more varied and participatory reaching methods in current and new courses that cover these topic areas.