Bordering on Madness: An American Land Use Tale

Bordering on Madness is a novel about a battle between a university and a community over proposed construction of a new campus facility. As the land use fight ripens, the homeowners and university become combatants. The opposition becomes the enemy, depersonalized and reprehensible.

From a teaching perspective, the novel allows for discussion of conventional and unconventional land use strategies as well as the development of a number of issues: When does one person have the right to control the lawful use of property owned by another? When does aggressive advocacy become unethical, unacceptable misconduct? What is the role of government when it comes to disputes between those opposed to development and those seeking approval of a proposed project? What are the best ways to handle the anger and frustration of individuals threatened by what they perceive as destructive change?

"We admit it―stories about legal treatises don't normally arouse our interest....But we make exceptions where campus bombings are involved, and the story of a land use text just out from AU Prof. Andrew Popper, with an assist from Pillsbury associate David Avitabile and Albany Law Prof. Patricia Salkin, has that and more." ― Legal Bisnow

Andrew Popper is a Professor of Law at American University Washington College of Law.