Santa Clara County was once filled with orchards. Today, 'Silicon Valley' has very few orchards left and has been almost fully developed with homes and business parks. The land use has changed dramatically, for the better or worse. The Central Valley is currently going through a similar transition. It was/is some of the most fertile and productive agricultural areas in the world. However, a combination of several factors including but not limited to, population increase, increase in Bay Area housing costs, and improved transportation and communication have lead to suburban sprawl surrounding urban areas in the Central Valley. This means less land for agriculture.

My questions to you are:

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Should this growth be controlled, or should the rules of supply and demand dictate the land use? If it is to be regulated, what political unit should dictate? Municipal, County, State, Federal? Should there be some other organization involved? If it is regulated, what factors should be considered? It is time to think like a geographer again. Please think about this from a variety of perspectives.