Long before land use issues, sprawl and property rights were hotly disputed topics in most American communities, developers and farmers in Woodford County, Kentucky were already at each other's throats. The battle that goes on in the Bluegrass region of Central Kentucky occurs everywhere these days; everywhere that people confront change, even in highly urbanized areas.
LAND (and how it gets that way) is an intimate, character-driven look at how ambition, class, and human foibles shape the landscape. Filmed over a ten year period, LAND explores the conflicts over land use from the perspective of 5 participants ( a developer, a farmer turned developer, a reluctant farmer activist, and 2 anti-growth activists), The film traces the shifting meanings of the land, the different values we attach to land, and how conflict over land use affects a community. Like the land itself, some subjects undergo unpredictable and dramatic transformations in this portrait of an American community’s attempt to reconcile conflicting notions of progress, preservation, individual and community rights and the American way.
"A powerful and wonderfully done piece of work. My compliments. I have seen lots of these types of depictions over the years. Yours is clearly one of the best ... An extremely well told and powerful local story with lessons for any community where land use conflict exists. An insightful, almost unique,depiction of the subtle social, economic and cultural issues that imbue land, and why it can be difficult to separate the "good guys" from the "bad guys." And yet, Walter Brock doesn't hide his values, and especially his concerns for the land he loves. One comes away wondering, as he does, about the adequacy and appropriateness of the normal processes of policy and politics for managing a limited, non-producible and essential natural resource."
-Harvey M. Jacobs , Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and Environmental Studies,
University of Wisconsin-Madison, author of
Who Owns America? Social Conflict over Property Rights (University of
Wisconsin Press, 1998) and Private Property in the 21st Century: The Future of an American Ideal (Edward Elgar, 2004)
"LAND is an extraordinary film that lays out all of the competing perspectives on land development without judgment or bias. A great film for undergraduate and graduate classes on urban planning, urban politics, or urban sociology. Enables students to really get inside of the minds of the different players in the land development game."
-Todd Swanstrom,
Author of Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-First Century,
Professor of Public Policy,
Saint Louis University.
"Brock . . has captured the kind of "environment vs. development" dispute that has deadlocked many communities around the United States."
-Lawrence Susskind, Ford Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT
Founder of the Consensus Building Institute
co-author of The Consensus Building Handbook
"LAND captures the inevitable choices facing communities trying to balance development and conservation interests. It also makes a strong case that our best hope in resolving such issues is through mutual respect, trust, communication, and understanding . . . I look forward to using the film in our courses."
-Matthew McKinney, Public Policy Research Institute,
The University of Montana
"This is the film I have wanted to have available for many years to use in my classes and in my extension work with communities to help them understand the complex nature of land use issues."
-Dr. Lorraine Garkovich,
Professor of Rural Sociology,
University of Kentucky
"Whether one considers urban sprawl to be a serious problem or simply the market in action, the arguments presented in the film can be heard in planning and zoning hearings throughout the nation. A must see film for anyone interested in urban sprawl and land use issues in the US. I plan to show the film in my land use planning class and look forward to the debate I know it will stimulate."
-Dr. Sarah L. Coffin,
Assistant Professor of Planning and Real Estate Development,
Saint Louis University.
"LAND presents a subtle story of competing interests in the conflict
over conversion of rural land to suburban housing developments. By
allowing the characters to speak for themselves, Brock engagingly presents
land use conflict as human drama, not dry policy and planning
decisions ... Without forcing viewers towards a
specific resolution, Brock allows viewers to consider the complexity of
suburban development by addressing issues of social class, social
mobility, and heritage, as well as the economic benefits and trade-offs
associated with sprawl."
-Diane C. Bates, Assistant Professor of Sociology,
The College of New Jersey
"I will certainly use this film in any sociology course I teach that
discusses urban or rural issues, class, environment, and changes in the
economy. I would also use it in public administration courses or urban
planning courses so that students can truly understand the complexity of
trying to regulate or plan land-use. I would also recommend it for viewing
to every single planning commission ... I have also visited your website and think that it is phenomenal. I
can't wait to have students do some of the role playing exercises. Thanks so
much for setting up such a useful site."
-Dr. Lauren Heberle, Assistant Director,
Center for Environmental Policy and Management,
University of Louisville
"... tells a universal story ... that by now must be familiar to nearly every U.S. community. It offers no clear answers to the development challenge, but by putting faces on its typical players, it’s a perfect point of departure for anyone interested in finding a better way."
-LEO, The Louisville Eccentric Observer
"Beautifully filmed ... LAND is a masterpiece because as with most complicated issues, there are more than two sides of the story told ... If there are “bad guys,” you the viewer, not Walter Brock, will make that judgment. And don’t be surprised if you change your mind as you view LAND. It is a film about change and its consequences ... one of the best filmed 57 minutes you’ll see in a while. Even the website is riveting."
-Virginia G. Smith,
Executive Director, The Kentucky Humanities Council.
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