Framing the Issues Land Resources and Food Production L and for natural habitats competes with land for agriculture, commerce, industry, and entertainment, so that the relative availability of living space depends on the priorities we set for these different uses.
T here are great variations in population densities throughout the world.
Crowding is more common in some parts of the world than in others. For example, developing countries have more persons per household on average, more persons per room on average, and much higher percentages of housing units without piped water, toilets, or electricity. A ccess to land for agricultural production is uneven, for in many developing countries, land ownership is concentrated into a few hands, and production is oriented toward high value export crops rather than crops that can be used for subsistence. Many of the world's rural peoples have only tiny parcels of poor quality land that can be used to produce food to support their families. S oil erosion has increased, especially in developing nations.