Land Lines
Lots of Opportunity: How Communities Can Address the Affordability Crisis on Land They Already Own
Across the country, more than 276,000 acres of land owned by municipalities, states, and federal agencies could feasibly be built on, according to a Center for Geospatial Solutions analysis. This abundance could help communities address the housing affordability crisis.
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Enabling Environments: Local Strategies for the Redevelopment of Public Land
Charlotte, Boston, and other cities are partnering with developers to build affordable housing on municipally owned land. Discover how they’re doing it, why they’re doing it, and what lessons other communities can learn.
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Reflections on Leadership
What does building fences in the Bitterroot Mountains have to do with running a global think tank? As he steps down after more than a decade at the helm of the Lincoln Institute, George W. McCarthy takes a moment to reflect on leadership in all its forms.
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Tying Consumerism to Conservation
In 2008, in the midst of an economic recession, voters in Minnesota approved the idea of increasing the state sales tax to protect land. Nearly two decades later, former Kingsbury Browne recipient David Hartwell reflects on why the campaign succeeded, the impact it has had, and the lessons other states can learn from it.
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A New Ground Lease on Life: In Virginia, County-Owned Land Becomes a Site for Student and Senior Housing
With a temperate climate and a location adjacent to Washington, DC, Fairfax County, Virginia, is a popular place to live—and increasingly unaffordable. Officials are making new homes available to residents by redeveloping county-owned land as a site for student housing, senior housing, and more.
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Determination and Disruption in Fairbanks
What’s it like to lead one of the most farflung cities in the country? Mayor Mindy O’Neall discusses life and politics in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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Data Drain: The Land and Water Impacts of the AI Boom
Communities across the US are wooing data centers with tax breaks and other incentives. But data centers are resource-ravenous, creating demands for land, water, and power that many host communities are not prepared to meet.
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Current issue:
Fall/Winter 2025
About Land Lines
Connecting the dots between our expertise and major global challenges, our free magazine shows why land policy matters.
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