1. what does 'whose' refer to here? 2. what is the subject of 'house'?
These lands in turn would be largely depopulated by migration to urban jobs, and reorganized for industrialized agriculture, whose presumed greater efficiencies would complement the efficiencies of complex urban infrastructure and buildings housing as many people on as little land as possible.

This sentence is very long. I feel confused about the structure.

1. what does 'whose' refer to here?
2. what is the subject of 'house' in 'housing as many people...'?

Thank you!

Question

1.  what does 'whose' refer to here?  2. what is the subject of 'house'?
These lands in turn would be largely depopulated by migration to urban jobs, and reorganized for industrialized agriculture, whose presumed greater efficiencies would complement the efficiencies of complex urban infrastructure and buildings housing as many people on as little land as possible.

This sentence is very long. I feel confused about the structure.

1.  what does 'whose' refer to here? 
 2. what is the subject of 'house' in 'housing as many people...'?

Thank you!

Answer

1. "Whose" refers to "Industrialized agriculture".
2. There is no subject. It is a participle, and the whole phrase "housing as many people on as little land as possible" is a participial phrase that acts adjectivally, modifying the noun "building". (If it makes it clearer, it is equivalent to writing "... buildings which house as many people on as little land as possible".)

I have to say, I find this a bit tricky to decipher myself. There's an ambiguity about the scope of the "and", which doesn't help. It could be:
a) ... the efficiencies of complex urban [infrastructure and buildings housing ...]
b) ... the efficiencies of [complex urban infrastructure and buildings housing ...]
c) ... [the efficiencies of complex urban infrastructure] and [buildings housing  ...]
Or indeed some other variants. I think I could persuade myself, if not anyone else, that (b) might make most sense.

Answer

Whose is referring to industrial agriculture. I know it's confusing because it seems like it should be a person, but it's just not. Buildings is the subject of the verb housing.

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