Measuring Land-Use Conflicts through
the Lens of Courts Activity.
Empirical Evidence and Implications for
Law and Geography
Thierry KIRAT (CNRS - IRISSO, Université Paris Dauphine)
Mariantonia LO PRETE (INRETS-SPLOTT, Université Paris Est)
Law & Society 2011 Annual Meeting, San Francisco (CA), June 2-5
Research interests
Legal scholars involved in interdisciplinar research
programs on Land-Use Conflicts
Litigation & legal process at the core of our research
Focus on Conflictual Activities
- Seaports, port-cities, environment, comparison France/Italy
- Periurban sprawl in France (Paris Area, Atlantic & Mediterranean coasts)
Sociolegal approaches to law : nuisance, urban & regional
planning, environmental issues
Model 1
Law
Disputes Courts
Land-Use
Powers Private property/Government Legal rights Socioeconomic/political issues Collective action Environmental activists 3
Law & Geography : provide stimulating insights
3 key elements for Land-Use Conflicts analysis
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Land-Use
Law and Institutions
Interests Actors
Structuring effects of law on land occupation and Land-Use Conflicts
- Who has the right to decide on land-use- Procedural rights to claim against a harmful decision
How space is taken into consideration in law
- Direct relationship : what can be done, where and how
- Indirect : competence, powers, public choices
Law in Action
- Legal activity of a plurality of public and private actors
- From law and regulation [norms] to facts [space and land-use, competing interests]
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Ci#zens Collec#ve ac#on Env. ac#vists Developers Local Authority Local Gvt Regional Gvt Na#onal Gvt Interna#onal Law (U.E.) Ci#zens X X X X Collec#ve ac#on X X X X Env. ac#vists X X X X X Developers Local Authority X X X Local Gvt X X X X X Regional Gvt X X X X X X X X Na#onal Gvt X X X X X X Interna#onal Law (U.E.) X X X X 6
Actors
LOCAL GLOBAL GLOBALFrom interests to legal rights ?
- Susbstantive rights + rights to claim in court
Private vs public interests
- Which balance ?
Transformation of interests into legal claims
- Socioeconomic, cultural, political conditions
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Model 3
Overview of our researches
Bottom-up approaches
Litigation in almost 10 « départements » in France : collection of
case records (zoning, planning, nuisance, environmental issues)
- Database on cases + socioeconomic data : 25 years (demography,households incomes, building permits)
Case studies on Seaports : courts rulings on environmental conflicts,
city/ports and ports/nature relationship
Cartography, descriptive statistics, data analysis
Land-use conflicts in the Ile-de-France Area
473 reported cases from 1981 to 2005
Conflicts are sensitive to the socioeconomic pattern &
changes in soil occupation (peri-urban sprawl)
Regional geography of conflicts connected to
socioeconomic geography
- Typology of municipalities - Degree of social segregation - Rythm of urbanization
Seaports environmental conflicts
13 conflicts for Marseilles
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12 conflicts for Genoa
Conclusions
Law in Action Territory
Courts
Land-Use
Factors
Stakes
Civil society
Equity
Sense of territorial identity
Short/Long term
Government (local/national)
Mobilization of law
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Territorial patterns : civil commitment, citizenship,
sense of collective identity, democratic governance
Impact of law on the future path of evolution of
territories ?
3 channels of connexion between Law and Geography
:
1. Specific case : micro impact
2. Repetition of cases in a particular area : judicial harassment,
incentive to sit-in noxious/harmful facilities in less
socially-favorred areas
3. Major Highest Courts rulings : jurisprudence
- Interpretation of statute law- Binding force for the future - Operates likes a Code
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