Our basic needs of food, water, fuel, clothing and shelter must be met from the land, which is in limited supply. As population and aspirations increase, so land becomes an increasingly scarce resource.
Land must change to meet new demands yet change brings new conflicts between competing uses of the land and between the interests of individual land users and the common good. Land taken for towns and industry is no longer available for farming; likewise, the development of new farmland competes with forestry, water supplies and wildlife.