Property Law and Real Estate Commons^™

Assessing Impact Of Urban Densification On Outdoor Microclimate And Thermal Comfort Using Envi-Met Simulations For Combined Spatial-Climatic Design (Cscd) Approach, Shreya Banerjee, Rachel X.Y. Pek, Sin Kang Yik, Graces N. Ching, Xiang Tian Ho, Dzyuban Yuliya, Peter J. Crank, Juan A. Acero, Winston T. L. Chow

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Future urban planning requires context-specific integration of spatial design and microclimate especially for tropical cities with extreme weather conditions. Thus, we propose a Combined Spatial-Climatic Design approach to assess impact of urban densification on annual outdoor thermal comfort performance employing ENVI-met simulations for Singapore. We first consider building bylaws and residential site guidelines to develop eight urban-density site options for a target population range. We further classify annual weather data into seven weather-types and use them as boundary conditions for the simulations. Comparing such fifty-six combined spatial-climatic simulation outputs by analyzing Outdoor Thermal Comfort Autonomy, we report the influence of …

The Effects Of Short-Term Rentals On Communities And How To Legislate Them: An Expanded Literary Review, William Cherry

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

A literary review of the economic and socioeconomic effects of short-term rental properties, specifically the commercialization of the industry based upon other research studies. An in-depth look at how commercialized short-term rentals effect the younger generation, hospitality industry, housing market, communities they reside in, and other externalities. A further review of different legal case studies of short-term rental legislation in major cities across the globe and their varying degrees of effectiveness.

Climate Change And Implications For National Security And International Law In The Arctic

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Climate change threatens national security due to the potential it carries to destabilize fragile regions, damage military installations, and exacerbate existing tensions between countries. While these effects will be global, the Arctic region represents a microcosm of a future where climate change affects the strategic priorities of states and renders existing governing institutions inadequate. Moreover, climate change will challenge the collage of “soft” international law that governs the Arctic, administered primarily through the Arctic Council’s collaborative forum. While this system has been effective, the opening of the Far North to increased sea passage, commercial exploitation, and great powers’ interests necessitates …

Gambling On Housing: Is Adverse Possession A Valid Tool For The Reallocation Of Vacant Property?

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Adverse possession, a staple of first-year law school property classes, never fails to shock the conscience of unsuspecting law students. Some are surprised to learn that a squatter can acquire legal title to another person’s property by moving in and using it for a period of years. In recent years, housing activists have begun to view the doctrine as an outside-the-box solution to our nation’s housing crisis. There are dozens of vacant homes for every person experiencing homelessness in America. Why not give those properties to people who actually use them?

However, this well-intended impulse does not square with reality. …

Royalty Wars: The Dark Side To Raising The Minimum Royalty Rate For Oil And Gas Leasing On Federal Land

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act took marked steps toward changing the course of the oil and gas industry for the first time in over 100 years, requiring that all federal oil and gas leases issued for the following decade have a minimum royalty rate of 16.67%. This paved the way for a major adjustment in the oil and gas industry, which has seen a 12.5% minimum royalty for the past century. In 2023, the Department of the Interior proposed to permanently codify these changes, citing purposes of ensuring a fair return to taxpayers and protecting the environment.

This Article …

Like, Comment, And Follow: How To Amend Copyright Law To Protect Black Tiktokers

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The Black community has long suffered through a cycle of trauma and pain, with history repeating itself throughout generations. From the civil rights movement to the Black Lives Matter movement, this cycle persists, showing up again in the experiences of Black TikTokers. Despite looking race-neutral on its face, copyright law’s lack of understanding of how Black art can manifest itself has become more obvious in the world of digital creativity. Stuck in a cycle of appropriation, Black TikTokers find themselves facing a familiar dilemma as their work is replicated without compensation or credit, echoing the historical struggles of Black musicians. …

Beyond The Binary: Ai, Ethics, And Liability In The Legal Landscape

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

As the legal landscape evolves with the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), attorneys will face ever more complex ethical challenges and practical dilemmas. This article delves into the intricacies of AI utilization in legal practice, emphasizing the need for proactive strategies to uphold ethical standards while harnessing the benefits of AI tools. Through real-world examples and hypothetical scenarios, it examines the importance of AI training and education for attorneys, highlighting the necessity of understanding AI tool functions, limitations, and potential pitfalls. Moreover, the article advocates for the implementation of rigorous AI oversight and review processes within law firms to ensure …

The Motivation Paradox: Exploring Copyright’S Assumptions About Creativity And The Allocation Of Creative Resources, Alina Ng

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Copyright is instrumental in promoting the progress of science by encouraging authors and other creators to produce and disseminate creative works by granting them an exclusive property right over the creative resources they produce. However, only some copyrighted works correlate with this goal. Some works do not promote a better society, while others harm society’s well-being. The existence of these works demonstrates that the legal structures in copyright law are somehow encouraging the production of works that do not correlate with the goals of progress. One reason might be that the law has not adequately defined the word “progress.” The …

Climate Zoning, Christopher Serkin

Notre Dame Law Review

As the urgency of the climate crisis becomes increasingly apparent, many local governments are adopting land use regulations aimed at minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The emerging approaches call for loosening zoning restrictions to unlock greater density and for strict new green building codes. This Article argues that both approaches are appropriate in some places but not in others. Not all density is created equal, and compact multifamily housing at the urban fringe may actually in-crease GHG emissions. Moreover, where density is appropriate, deregulation will not necessarily produce it. And, finally, green building codes will increase housing costs and so …

All Aboard: Understanding Property Rights In Texas After Texas Central, Asher K. Gregg

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Our forefathers intended the United States Bill of Rights to protect individuals from government overreach. Specifically, the Fifth Amendment, as applied to the States via the Fourteenth Amendment, in part protects individuals from unnecessary takings. Eminent domain authority—its more common name—has long been recognized as a power to be used cautiously and only when necessary. Although most often associated with government exercise, states are permitted to grant this unyielding authority to private entities via their state constitutions and statutes. Despite Texas serving as a beacon for individual property rights, the Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision in Miles v. Texas Central …

Full Speed Ahead? Reexamining Texas's Approach To Eminent Domain, Emma Blackmon

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Property rights are traditionally held sacred in Texas. But through eminent domain, landowners lose their property rights, purportedly in service of the broader public. Sometimes, the legislature confers eminent domain power on for-profit companies. Landowners are then forced to surrender their property while the companies benefit economically. The result is that landowners are stripped of the right to fully use and enjoy their property.

The recent Texas Supreme Court case, Miles v. Texas Central Railroad & Infrastructure, Inc., demonstrates the tension between property rights and economic development created by eminent domain. Facially, Miles concerns whether a for-profit company’s high-speed …

Keeping Up With The Joneses: Texas’ Nil Battle For Student-Athletes, Stephanie Garner

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Starting in 2021, college athletes could earn financial compensation from their name, image, and likeness (“NIL”). With the change in laws, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) created an interim regulation for states to follow. After the Supreme Court decision, some states’ trigger laws went into effect, some states made new NIL regulations, and some states continued to follow the regulation set out by the NCAA. With all these laws and no federal regulation, each state stands on different footing. In Texas, a restrictive NIL statute will affect its recruiting for years unless adjusted. This Comment suggests improvements to the …

A Tall Summit: Securing Lasting, Reliable Public Access For Recreational Use On Colorado’S Privately Owned Fourteeners, Michael Betrus

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

From the National Scenic Trails to mountains to other destinations in nature drawing the public’s interest and time for recreational activities, privately owned land can cause difficulties in ensuring reliable and consistent public access. A specific example is the Decalibron Loop, a trail in Colorado linking together a few mountains; public access has wavered over the years, and a recent Tenth Circuit case, Nelson v. United States, greatly affected landowner dispositions—particularly with regard to liability—toward the privately owned property. Similar situations across the country provide a variety of potential approaches to helping provide public access and reducing landowner concerns.

With …

Unequal Land: Towards Full Recognition Of Indigenous People’S Religious Rights, Emily Campbell

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Indigenous people face disparate treatment regarding religious free-exercise claims in the United States court system. Specifically, courts misconstrue native religious practices and hold native religious practitioners to a higher standard of proof than practitioners of mainstream religions in their free-exercise claims. This Article analyzes the history of oppression of indigenous people in the United States and the congressional intent to remedy such oppression through legislation. Further, this Article argues that despite Congress’s efforts to remedy the oppression of indigenous peoples, courts still utilize a problematic analysis of indigenous free-exercise claims. To resolve the inconsistent treatment between native and mainstream religious …

The Lack Of Victim Protection In The Enforcement Of The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Kelly R. Fitzgerald Valiev

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Over the past twenty-two years, United States federal courts have seen many cases regarding forced labor and the importation of goods produced by victims of forced labor trafficking. To resolve these cases, the court must interpret § 307 of the Tariff Act to determine whether victims can recover against their traffickers. Recently, an issue in the interpretation of forced labor has arisen in courts: whether an attempt at importing goods is sufficient to establish a cause of action as a violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act’s prohibition on forced labor imports. Courts that interpret forced labor narrowly to …

Can They Fix It? Yes, They Can: Rebalancing The Scale Of Financial Security On Construction Projects, Allie Grubb

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The construction industry is one of the most dominant industries worldwide. The United States is no stranger to development and growth, and as so, it possesses one of the largest construction industries in the world. Given the magnitude of the industry, it is no secret that every party involved in a construction project feels the loom of financial risks and that such risks continue to plague the industry. The government, particularly the legislature, has a special influence in that the laws it passes can either encourage continued development and make the industry flourish or bring it to a complete stop, …

Far Out: The Extended Denial Of Public Access To Psychedelic Therapeutics, Andrew R. Waldeck

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The United States patent regime is designed to promote dissemination of information that undergirds a particular innovation. To incentivize disclosure, inventors are granted a time-limited right to exclude others from practicing the invention, thereby affording the inventor a period in which to commercialize and financially benefit from their inventive contribution. The disclosure provides information sufficient for one of skill in the relevant art to make and use the invention, and the public may freely do so upon the patent’s expiry. Global advancement of human medicine is fundamentally intertwined with the United States patent system; medical progress largely depends upon the …

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Parks And Separation: How The Mississippi Legislature Decided Just Compensation In Bay Point Properties, Inc. V. Mississippi Transportation Commission, Kyle Usner

Mississippi College Law Review

At first glance, Bay Point comes across as the standard, run-of-the-mill eminent domain case: the government contracts with a citizen for an express easement over privately-owned land limited to a certain use; the government then exceeds the scope of that easement, resulting in a taking. Governmental taking is usually not anything outside of the norm. But with a potential seven billion dollars' worth of federally funded highway projects destined for Mississippi highway only a Presidential signature away from being approved, this decision is not one Mississippi landowners should ignore. Further, the crux of Bay Point lies with an issue of …

Identity Crisis: The Supreme Court Of Georgia’S New Framework May Have Widespread Impact On Extended-Stay Motels And Their Occupants, Dawson B. Welsh

Mercer Law Review

Certainty is a trait valued highly by many, and it is perhaps most valued in the world of business where minimizing risk and maximizing profit is the name of the game. Efficiency Lodge, Inc. v. Neason developed what appeared to be a routine fight over occupancy into one of the most important redefinitions of a legal framework in the field of real estate. The Supreme Court of Georgia’s analysis of the relationships provides a legal framework for Georgia courts to apply when attempting to parse out the rights of the parties by specifically providing a new way for courts to …