ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Checkerboarding (land)

Checkerboarding is like playing a game of checkers on a board, but instead of using pieces, it’s done with land. Imagine a big board made up of squares, like a giant chess board. When people start using the land, they might divide it up into squares, just like on the board.

But sometimes, the squares don’t all belong to the same person, and that’s where the checkerboarding problem comes in. It means that some of the squares belong to one person, while the squares beside them belong to a different person. Just like in checkers or chess, this makes it harder to move around on the board, because you have to always watch out for your opponents’ pieces.

In the case of land, this can cause problems for the people who own or use the land. It can make it hard to plan out where to build things like houses, roads, or farms. It can also make it harder for people to share resources like water or animals, if they own different squares on the board. Ultimately, checkerboarding can make it harder for everyone to use the land in the best way possible.