My home is next to your castle: Why land law and real estate planning cannot be separated

In this field of ‘immovables studies’ we are constantly balancing between the pubic
and the private interests; or even debating if an interest is public or private. The
way in which land is developed and used on one piece of land (plot), directly affects
the neighbouring plots, and often even a wider area. And as each plot tends to be
both a (potential) cause of nuisance as well as a recipient of other plots’ nuisance, a
myriad of restrictions and even responsibilities is set up to balance the rights given
to the plot’s possessor. Some of this is done in laws focusing on the ‘ownership’
(land law, civil code), and the rest, often better known, in public administrative
laws, by a broad spatial planning system, as well as an increasing amount of
environmental regulations. National and regional political trends as well as
emerging global drivers, influence the nuance of the balancing act.