Land is the most valuable asset in a city. The use and structure of urban land is decisive in determining the potential for individuals to access jobs, services, and collectively drive productive growth. Effective land use:

• Creates a platform on which firms and workers cluster together, allowing workers to specialise and firms to access larger markets. Productivity gains from proximity in the form of shared knowledge, technology and markets5 mean that businesses often tend to cluster together. This commercial density means that high residential density is also desirable to give workers good access to jobs.
• Enables individuals to access basic infrastructure, goods and services necessary for their quality of life, such as housing, public space, sanitation and transportation
• Ensures natural resources are protected and land vulnerable to natural disaster is managed for sustainable urban development.

(Source: https://www.theigc.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Urban-land-use-planning-21-Aug-low-res.pdf )