What is the purpose of easements in land use?

Easements are legal arrangements that allow one party to use a portion of another person's property for a specific purpose, which is why the provision of access or usage rights is the core function of easements. For instance, an easement might permit a utility company to install and maintain power lines across private land or grant a neighbor the right to cross your property to reach a lake. This reflects the essence of easements—facilitating access or usage without transferring actual ownership of the land.

The other potential options do serve various functions in land use but do not accurately encapsulate the primary purpose of easements. Ownership transfer relates to real estate transactions and differs fundamentally from the nature of an easement. Enhancing property value can be a secondary effect of easements in specific cases, but it is not their main purpose. Marking property boundaries is a function of surveying and zoning, which again does not align with the definition or purpose of easements.