Excerpts: Our cities and towns are an important use of the land because most of us live in them, because they irrevocably change the landscape in ways that preclude other land uses, and because they are a relatively recent phenomenon in our predominantly agrarian history. Despite their importance, urban uses make up a small portion of our total land area. Land in metropolitan areas, even though in rural uses, is heavily influenced by urbanization. Losses of rural land to urban uses continue to occur, with important local land use implications, prompting many States and localities to pass farmland retention legislation. With this protection and under economic pressures, agriculture in metropolitan areas has adapted to urbanization, resulting in smaller, more intensive operations growing higher value crops and livestock.