Land Lines Newsletter of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Urban Development Options for California’s Central Valley

William Fulton

or more than a century, California’s Great Central Valley has been recog- F nized as one of the world’s foremost agricultural regions. A giant basin 450 miles long and averaging 50 miles wide, the Valley encompasses some 19,000

square miles. With only one-half of one © CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES percent of the nation’s farmland, the Valley accounts for 8 percent of the nation’s farm output—including 15 percent of America’s vegetable production and 38 percent of fruit production. Today, large parts of the Valley are making a transition to an urban economy. Led by such emerging metropolitan areas as Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield, the Central Valley already has more than 5 Housing, highways, levees, rivers, and agricultural lands intersect across the million residents. State demographers Central Valley, as shown here along the Sacramento River. predict growth to reach almost 9 million people by 2020 and more than 11 million Given this scale of urban growth, For decades, the Valley’s regional environ- by 2040. what are the key issues facing the Valley? ment consisted mostly of three elements With the assistance of the Lincoln Institute, intertwined on the landscape—vestiges of the Great Valley Center—a non-govern- nature, a panoply of crops and compact mental organization supporting the econ- agricultural towns. The development of September 1999 omic, social and environmental well-being agriculture created a rural landscape, but Volume 11, Number 5 of California’s Central Valley—has under- one in which nature was often sacrificed taken an effort to try to frame this basic for agricultural production. A distinctive 3 APA Training Series question. Which issues are purely local, urban form evolved that was far different 4 Property Tax and which ones require a more regional from the rest of California. The Valley’s Administration in approach? What are the constraints the older towns, often sited on railway lines, Porto Alegre, Brazil Valley faces in the decades ahead? And, are typically compact but not dense, with 6 Tax Reform in Mexicali finally, what are the choices? How might wide, shady streets stretching out along the Valley approach the question of the flat expanse from an old commercial 8 Loeb Fellows in Mexico accommodating urban growth while still downtown. 9 Dissertation Fellowships retaining an agricultural base, a vibrant 12 Curriculum Development economy, a good quality of life and an Regional and Sub-Regional and Research Projects enhanced natural environment? Growth Dynamics 15 Recent Working Papers Perhaps the biggest question is simply In determining urban development options whether the Central Valley can accommo- for the Central Valley, it is important to 16 Calendar/On the Web date such a vast quantity of urban growth understand the context of growth dynamics and still maintain its distinctive identity. See Central Valley page 2 Central Valley California at Davis, and proximity to the Underlying Issues continued from page 1 Bay Area. This has become a popular loca- With so much urban growth on the tion for high-tech employers. horizon, the Central Valley’s twenty-first- that affect the entire region as well as Stockton-Modesto-Merced: Tradition- century landscape will be shaped by the important sub-regions. Although the geo- ally a major ranching and agricultural area, interplay among several different issues: graphical size of the Central Valley is very these centrally located counties are now Agriculture: Agriculture is likely to large—far larger than many states, for experiencing tremendous urban growth consume less land and less water in the example—in many ways it should be pressure because of Bay Area commuting, future than it has used in the past, but it is viewed as one region with a common set though they are not adding jobs as rapidly still likely to be the sector that most deter- of characteristics and problems. These as Sacramento Metro. mines the Valley’s urban growth patterns. include: Greater Fresno: Four counties near The critical issues are: What kind of agri- Air quality: The Central Valley Fresno remain the agricultural heartland cultural base will the Valley have in the consists of one air basin, and so pollutants of the Central Valley. Though population next century, and how much land and emitted in one part of the Valley can have growth rates are high, largely due to immi- water will that agricultural base require? an impact hundreds of miles away. gration and high birth rates, especially in Recent trends have moved the Valley toward Water supply and distribution: the metropolitan Fresno area, the economy ever-higher-value crops, and competition Although many parts of the Central Valley is only beginning to diversify and remains with foreign markets is expected to be depend heavily on groundwater, almost heavily focused on agriculture and related fierce. every community in the region is at least industries. Socioeconomic issues: The Valley partly dependent on one water source: the Bakersfield-Kern County: Somewhat has traditionally lagged behind the rest drainage that flows into the Sacramento separate geographically from the rest of the of California in social and economic indi- and San Joaquin Rivers and then through San Joaquin Valley, this area remains a cators. Unemployment and teenage preg- the Sacramento Delta. This water source is center of both agriculture and extractive nancy are high, while household income also used in many different ways by both industries, especially oil. This region is and educational attainment is low. Like state and federal water projects. experiencing rapid population growth and the rest of California, the Valley is rapid- Transportation links: The Central is the only part of the Valley that appears ly evolving a unique mix of racial diver- Valley is connected internally and to other to be directly influenced by spillover sity. Although the Valley will soon get a regions by a series of transportation links. growth from Greater Los Angeles. boost from the creation of a new Univer- Most obvious are the major sity of California campus in freeway corridors, including Merced County, the region’s Highway 99, Interstate 5, and overall economic competi- Interstate 80, along with rail Central Valley Metropolitan tiveness may not be able to and Regional Organizations lines, which generally follow the match its urban population Highway 99 corridor. A Center for Sustainability (Redding) growth. A B Land supply and cost: In Regional Action Partnership C Valley Vision (Sacramento, Yolo, Natural resources: In virtually all parts of the Central Yuba, Sutter, Placer, El Dorado Co.) the rush to create one of the Valley, land is cheaper and in 1 D Visioning Process (Stanislaus Co.) world’s great agricultural re- E The Growth Alternatives Alliance more abundant supply than it B (Fresno Co.) gions, the Central Valley’s is in coastal areas. This is one of C F Smart Growth Coalition leaders often overlooked the main reasons why popula- the wonderland of natural tion growth has shifted from the 3 2 resources that lay at their feet. coast to the Central Valley. D For example, the Valley’s vast At the same time, the Val- 4 system of wetlands, once one ley can be viewed as a group of 5 of the largest and most impor- five sub-regions, each with its own tant in the world, has almost growth dynamic. These include: 6 E completely disappeared, much North Valley: Seven coun- to the detriment of the migra- ties in the northern portion of Irrigated Agricultural F Land tory bird population. In the the Sacramento Valley remain Central Valley 7 National Forest future, there will be increasing rural and experience relatively State Colleges Park Land pressure to restore and en- and Universities little growth pressure compared Major Urban Center hance these natural resources 1 Cal State-Chico to the rest of the Valley. 2 Cal State-Sacramento even as the Valley continues Sacramento Metro: Six 3 U. of California-Davis to urbanize. The entire San counties around Sacramento 4 Cal State-Stanislaus Francisco Bay-Sacramento have the highest rates of educa- 5 U. of California-Merced Delta ecosystem has emerged tional attainment and the high- 6 Cal State-Fresno as the focal point of a massive 7 Cal State-Bakersfield est wage scales anywhere in the state and federal effort to Valley, largely because of the Source: Adapted from CA Dept. of Agriculture and Bruce A. Race, AIA, AICP, RACESTUDIO improve water quality and state capital, the University of restore biodiversity.

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY2 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 Infrastructure and infrastructure financing: When California’s coastal Training Series on metropolitan areas were created, mostly in the postwar era, the state and federal governments contributed greatly to their Community Planning success by picking up the tab for most of the infrastructure they required. In the last gain this year the American Plan- their adult use businesses or big box two decades, however, all this has changed. ning Association and the Lincoln houses of worship, do they have the right In the Central Valley, the urban infrastruc- A Institute are presenting a series of to regulate? As technology changes and as ture is underdeveloped, and the financial audio conference training programs on ethnic and religious populations fluctuate, ability of developers and new homebuyers community planning. They are designed community governance needs to adjust. to bear the full cost of community for planning commissioners, professional This program examines the role of plan- infrastructure is questionable. planners, elected and appointed officials, ning and the legal obligations of commu- Governmental structure and regional/ and their staffs to help them do better nities in this challenging environment. sub-regional cooperation: In the Valley as planning for their communities and to February 9, 2000 elsewhere, a wide range of local, regional, meet the challenges of political and Transfer of Development Rights state and federal agencies make decisions technological changes in local land use Revisited that create the emerging landscape. But planning. Presenters include public TDR started as a historic preservation tool there is little history of cooperation among officials, land use attorneys, planners and in densely populated urban areas, but has these agencies, and especially among local planning consultants, policy analysts, and been expanded for use in the conservation governments. If all these entities can work academic researchers. of agricultural lands and critically sensitive together well, they can effectively increase The audio conferences are delivered areas. Learn where this tool fits in the the region’s “capacity” to create an urban over a speaker telephone to a group of any toolbox of community incentive programs. environment that works for its users while size. All programs are one hour in length In this timely discussion, panelists will protecting agricultural land, natural and are held on Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. assess how well TDR has worked over resources and other non-urban values. But Eastern Standard Time. Each registration time, in what situations it is most useful, if these entities do not establish a pattern site receives reading materials, an agenda, and the potential it holds for helping of working together, the result could be a and instructions on joining the program communities preserve valuable resources haphazard pattern of urban growth that and asking questions of the speakers. Tapes and grow intelligently. does not serve any goal well. and transcripts of each program are optional. Fees range from $80 per program to $440 for all four programs. May 25, 2000 Possible Strategies Urban Parks and Green Space Given these background conditions, the October 13, 1999 Are they a bellwether of community Central Valley could adopt any one of Livable Communities health? How are changing recreational a number of strategies for shaping urban and Sustainable Development habits, neighborhood demographics and growth, or different parts of the Valley Livability is the buzz-word of the moment, city budgets affecting parks? Panelists could “mix and match” from a variety of but what does it mean in practical terms? explore the array of park and green space possibilities, which include the following: The goal is for communities to achieve the planning being conducted in urban areas. Concentrate urban growth in existing perfect balance of a sound economy, attrac- Find out what innovative approaches are urban centers. The Central Valley’s urban tiveness, amenities, social concern and being used for consensus building, design, centers are well established and well served environmental sensitivity. This program park definition, environmental planning, by existing infrastructure. They contain explores the meaning of these terms and sustainable management and financing. most of the current job centers and com- examines how livability and sustainability Explore the relationship between parks and munity support services and amenities re- are effectively integrated into community- the community’s economic development. quired for urban or suburban living. This level planning. From brownfields to clean strategy would concentrate urban growth water and from affordable housing to better For more information and to register, see in and near these centers through a com- transportation options, learn what com- APA’s website at www.planning.org/educ/ bination of infill development and compact munities are doing to actually achieve audiocon.htm or contact Jerieshia Jonesat growth in new areas. this goal. APA at 312/431-9100 or email to Adopt a “metroplex” strategy. This [email protected]. strategy would recognize that population December 1, 1999 growth in the Valley will be concentrated Land Use Regulation in a few large metropolitan areas. Urban and the Freedom of Expression growth needs, including urban centers, This program explores the community’s bedroom communities, parks and green- obligation to address issues of freedom belts, should be dealt with at the metro- of religion and free expression. Constitu- politan level in a small number of distinct tional law on these subjects is ever-chang- “urban metropolitan regions.” ing. While communities may not like See Central Valley page 14

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 19993 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY Challenges to Property Tax Administration in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Claudia M. De Cesare Figure 1: he property tax in Brazil is an Histogram of the Assessed Value to Sale Price Ratio (AV/SP) annual tax on urban land and 30 T buildings administered at the local Median of AV/SP government level. The tax base is derived from market value and is standardized 25 across different local authorities, although procedures for establishing the tax base 20 and rates vary considerably.

In the city of Porto Alegre, the cost equency (%) 15 approach is the method traditionally em- ployed for assessing real estate property for 10 taxation purposes. No legal requirement Relative Fr exists concerning intervals between valu- 5 ations, and the last general valuation took place in 1991. In years without valuations, 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 the tax base has been readjusted uniformly according to prevailing inflation rates. Assessment Ratios The property tax rates are progressive, with sliding rates for six classes of assessed Factors determining assessment tion between the ad hoc depreciation rates values to insert an element of “ability-to- inequity: To examine the simultaneous adopted and the reduction in price caused pay” into the system. The tax is calculated effects of the factors determining assess- by age, obsolescence or deterioration of by the sum of each portion of the assessed ment bias, a multivariate model was used building structures. Furthermore, lack of value multiplied by the respective rate for to investigate both vertical and horizontal systematic control over valuation perfor- that class. The maximum rate for residen- inequities. The model detected a large mance seems to have contributed to the tial property reaches 1.2 percent. number of factors causing systematic high inaccuracy of assessed values. differences in assessment levels, including Time lags between valuations: The Analysis of the Current System location attributes, building quality, build- method used to make an overall adjust- A recent analysis of the property tax system ing year, presence of elevators and similar ment to assessed values based on prevailing in Porto Alegre sought to provide a full variables. Vertical assessment regressivity inflation rates for years without valuation examination of the relationship between was also identified. has clearly contributed to the reduction of assessed values and sale prices. Some of Assessment method: It is plausible the tax base. For instance, properties were the results are summarized below. to assert that the method traditionally em- assessed on median at 38 percent of their Assessment level and uniformity: ployed for assessing real property, that is, sale prices in 1993, but only 27 percent Residential apartments in Porto Alegre the cost approach, is in 1995. were assessed on median at only 34 per- a major cause of the Figure 2: Effective versus Statutory Effective versus cent of their sale prices, much less than lack of assess-ment Property Tax Rates statutory rates of the statutory level of 100 percent. Using uniformity identi- MEASURE RATE (%) property tax: Rates the coefficient of dispersion about the fied in this study. Effective Statutory for residential prop- median [COD] of the assessed value to Some theoretical Median 0.17 0.75 erty are progressive sale price ratio as a measure of variability, weaknesses of the according to six the results showed a low degree of assess- approach are asso- COD 56.87 18.26 classes of assessed ment uniformity (approximately 36 per- ciated with the ex- Minimum rate 0.02 0.29 value. The effective cent). In Brazil, there are neither local nor tensive number of Maximum rate 1.18 1.15 rate results from the national standards for evaluating assess- simplifications im- actual amount raised ment performance. By comparison, a com- plemented by the local authority to make from property taxation, without regard to monly accepted degree of uniformity for its application easier, and these adjustments tax evasion, divided by the sale price. The single-family residential property in the are likely to have determined assessment statutory rate results from the expected tax United States is a coefficient between bias. Inconsistencies with the standard that could be raised per property, if the tax 10 and 15 percent. Figure 1 illustrates cost model include the lack of connection were established on the basis of sale price, the ample spread of the assessment ratios between cost tables and the performance divided by its sale price. The effective rate in this study. of the real estate market, and low correla- is much lower than the statutory rate and

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY4 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 represents on median only 0.17 percent of are planned, the Council members are • Reassessment of properties based on sale price. responsible for supporting capping systems current market values using the sales Improper assessment practices have in the name of protecting the poor and comparison approach to assessing affected the distribution of the tax burden, retired taxpayers. However, the capping residential property, such as multiple not only because assessed values do not systems actually favor high-income and regression analysis (MRA), artificial bear a consistent relationship to sale prices wealthy taxpayers because low-income neural networks (NN), or multilevel but also because many properties are classi- and retired taxpayers can receive relief modeling (hierarchical linear models fied incorrectly. The actual property tax based on their income. —HLMs). revenue collected in the period under study Since 1991, two proposals for altering • Systematic control over assessed represented approximately 25 percent of the property tax base in Porto Alegre have property values, including testing the potential revenue to be raised if assess- been rejected by the Chamber of Coun- before the release of the valuation roll ed values were equal to sale prices. cilor because the estimated value of some to recognize and adjust for eventual properties would have been adjusted over bias in the estimated tax base. Causes of Poor Tax Administration the inflation rate at the time. However, the • Assurance of regular assessment Historical factors may help to explain the existing vertical assessment inequity means updates. current poor administration of the proper- that high-valued properties are the ones • Establishment of market adjustments ty tax in Porto Alegre and its inefficient benefiting from poor property tax to assessed values based on ratio use as a revenue source. During the 1970s, administration. studies for years without valuation. large transfers of revenue from the central • Transparency in the administration government and private estates to munici- Recommendations on Revising of the property tax, especially in grad- palities complemented the revenue raised Practices and Attitudes uating the size of the tax burden, in- at the local government level. Consequent- Knowledge about the weaknesses of a stead of overriding estimates of mar- ly, local authorities were not interested in particular tax system is fundamental for its ket values arbitrarily for this purpose. collecting their own taxes, and taxpayers improvement, and the analysis undertaken • A definition of minimum standards were used to paying insignificant property in Porto Alegre provides greater under- for assessment performance at the tax bills. The achievement of good perfor- standing of the current system, the degree local or national level. mance in terms of valuation and an accep- of assessment inequity and its main causes. The achievement of property tax table degree of assessment equity were For the first time, the drawbacks and weak- equity and the provision of a high stan- secondary issues. nesses of the system are both quantified dard of public services are common goals Recent financial crises combined with and measured, including which properties for politicians, the community, adminis- the urgent need for public investment in are benefiting from the system and the trators and others. Public officials need to infrastructure equipment and services have amount of revenue being lost. Now Porto take advantage of new technologies for stimulated some local authorities to im- Alegre has the opportunity to improve its property tax assessment and data gathering prove their tax systems. However, due to property tax system on the basis of accur- to make tax systems operate both efficient- the high visibility of the property tax and ate data rather than political expediency. ly and fairly. However, technical improve- taxpayer antipathy, efforts to recover reve- Several measures would contribute to ments are just a part of the process. It is nue and achieve assessment equity often the overall equity of the tax system while also vital to work on public opinion. An result in tax revolts. Furthermore, changes also improving revenue collection to pro- important step is to encourage dialogue in the tax base must be approved by locally vide the community with higher standards between community residents and politi- elected members of the Chamber of of living: cians, showing the drawbacks of the cur- Councilors. Whenever general valuations rent system and the consequences of keeping its structure. Confidence in the property tax system is likely to increase if Figure 3: revisions are discussed seriously in the Property Tax Rates: Classes of Assessed Value public domain.

3 Classes Lower Claudia M. De Cesare is an assessor in the Department of Local Taxation for the 2 Classes Lower Municipality of Porto Alegre. She received a Lincoln Institute Dissertation Fellowship in 1999 to support the research reported here 1 Class Lower and in her Ph.D. thesis, which she com- CORRECT CLASS pleted at the University of Salford in England. The Lincoln Institute is continuing to devel- op educational programs with administra- 1 Class Higher tors, politicians, scholars and the community 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 in Porto Alegre to help improve the equity Percent of Properties and efficiency of the property tax system. Contact: [email protected]

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 19995 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY Mexicali: A Success Story of Property Tax Reform

Manuel Perlo Cohen Mexicali took the lead in property tax wanted to loosen his fiscal grip, so he did reform. Starting in 1989, the newly elected not pursue land valuation updates and he case of Mexicali, the capital city mayor, Milton Castellanos Gout, saw the abandoned the mathematical model that of the border state of Baja Califor- importance of having strong local finances was originally created for that purpose. T nia, Mexico, stands out as a good and wanted to raise revenues at the begin- Opposition to updating land values example of successful property tax reform ning of his term. He hired a private con- came from both the Municipal Cadastral in the 1990s. In only a few years the local sulting firm to update cadastral values. Committee and the government officials government was able to raise revenues asso- The main consultant, Sergio Flores Peña, in charge of the cadastre and valuation ciated with the property tax, as well as a graduate in city and regional planning office who lacked the technical capability strengthen its municipal finances and from the University of California at Berk- to manipulate the model and feared that modernize its cadastral and collection sys- eley, convinced the mayor to change from their power and control might be weak- tems. Furthermore, Mexicali carried out a mixed-value tax base on land and build- ened by the participation of the private this reform by adopting a land value taxa- ings to a land value system, and to design a consulting firm. As a result, the mathe- tion system, the first of its kind in Mexico, mathematical model to calculate land values. matical model was abandoned and land and gained the public’s acceptance for Rather than being attracted by values where subsequently defined by a these changes. Without ignoring its prob- theoretical or ideological beliefs about the process of negotiation and bargaining lems and flaws, this case provides interest- advantages of a land value tax, Castellanos between local authorities, elected repre- ing lessons on future property tax reform was convinced that it would be the easiest sentatives and the committee. However, endeavors in Mexico and other countries. and fastest way to raise revenues. He took the land value taxation system remained the political risk of proposing a Municipal as the base to establish land values. Economic, Political and Technical Cadastral Committee, including real estate At the same time, the Castellanos Considerations owners’ organizations, professional organi- administration embarked on a cadastre Accomplishing property tax reform did zations and citizen representatives. modernization program with financial not always seem to be an easy task in The results were spectacular in two resources from the federal government. Mexicali or anywhere in Mexico. Since ways: first, the new tax raised revenues However, since the mayor saw that his 1983, the local level of government has quickly (see Table 1); and second, there main objective of raising revenues had been responsible for setting up and col- was not a single legal or political objection been achieved, the efforts to modernize lecting property taxes, although state from taxpayers. The increase in revenues the cadastral system became a secondary authorities kept certain responsibilities. from real estate property taxes and prop- priority that was not as successful. Throughout the 1980s, property tax rev- erty sales, by far the most important source In subsequent administrations, the enues, and local revenues in general, expe- of local revenues, allowed the mayor to policy towards tax revenues and cadastre rienced a severe drop caused by a combi- launch an important public works pro- modernization varied. The next mayor, nation of high inflation rates, economic gram. In the next fiscal year, however, he Francisco Pérez Tejeda (1992–1995), was recession, lack of political interest, and reduced administrative competence of local governments, which preferred to Table 1: Property Tax Revenues in Mexicali, 1984-1998 rely on revenue-sharing sources. 70 In the early 1990s, a clear improve- ment in the nation’s macro-economic 60 performance made conditions more favor- able for change, although political and 50 technical factors reduced the incentives 40 for many state and local governments to embark on fiscal reform. Nevertheless, the 30 federal administration of Carlos Salinas de Millions of Pesos Gortari (1989–1994) launched an initia- 20 tive to improve local finances through a cadastre modernization program lead by 10 BANOBRAS (Banco Nacional de Obras y Servicios), a public development bank. 0 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 Even before this program and other Source: Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico. Tesoreria del XVI Ayuntamiento de Mexicali. Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, national policies began to exert an influ- Geografia e Informatica. ence on local and state administrations,

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY6 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 a member of the same political party reform at an early stage. It is clear that the Finally, cases of property tax reform (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, rationale for adopting land value taxation around the world cannot be viewed as PRI). He experienced a drop in property had more to do with a pragmatic approach black-and-white, success-or-failure experi- tax revenue during his first year in office, than with theoretical positions or debates ences, but rather, like Mexicali, as stories and taxes only increased at the end of over different schools of thought. How- that combine success, flaws and steps back- his administration. He abandoned the ever, this should not prevent government ward. Far from being a perfect example cadastre modernization program, but officials, consultants, scholars and the gen- of property tax reform, Mexicali is a good maintained the land value taxation system. eral public from thoroughly analyzing the learning experience. It shows that changes The next administration was led by diverse consequences of this approach in can take place in a field where often one Eugenio Elourdy (1995-1998), a member terms of economic efficiency, equity and thinks that little can be accomplished. of the Partido de Acción Nacional (PAN). administrative management. He was the first opposition party leader in Although a land value tax has proven Manuel Perlo Cohen is a researcher at the Mexicali, although a member of PAN had to be successful in the case of Mexicali, it Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales, Univer- governed at the state level from 1989 to should not be viewed as a panacea for all sidad Nacional Autónoma de México. He 1994. During Elourdy’s term, land values situations. It is important to recognize that received support for this case study from the were updated, property tax revenues grew the tax can be of little help without other Lincoln Institute and he has participated in steadily and cadastre modernization was measures that have to be considered as part numerous Institute-sponsored courses and vigorously resumed. The current adminis- of property tax reform, such as cadastre seminars throughout Latin America. tration led by Victor Hermosillo (1999- modernization, clear policies on tax rates Contact: [email protected]. 2001) is continuing with cadastre reform. and public participation.

Assessing the Mexicali Experience There is no question that the process of fiscal reform has stimulated property tax On the Web revenues as the fastest and most important www.lincolninst.edu financial source for the city government. Currently, property tax revenues account for more than 50 percent of local munici- ¿Habla Español? pal revenues. Mexicali is well above the state and national averages for the relative Estamos desarrollando una sección Marzo de 1998 latinoamericana en nuestro sitio web “Nueva ley colombiana implementa share of property tax revenues to total donde hemos colocando siete artículos la captura de la plusvalía” Fernando revenues (15.3 percent in 1995, compared de Land Lines traducidos al español. Rojas y Martim O. Smolka to 8.4 percent at the state level and 10.3 Marzo de 1999 percent at the national level). Local govern- “La expansión del uso de la tierra Los siguientes informes realizados ment officials in charge of the cadastre and en Bogotá ¿Puede ser controlada?” por investigadores latinoamericanos valuation systems are well prepared with Carolina Barco de Botero y Ralph también han sido colocados en el sitio Gakenheimer web. Estos trabajos han sido parcial o technical expertise and an awareness of the totalmente financiados por el Lincoln need to conduct permanent reform within Enero de 1999 Institute. the system. Mexicali’s example has already “La tierra vacante en América Latina” Problemas periurbanos de tierra been replicated in the rest of the state of Nora Clichevsky en la Parroquia Samán de Güere en Baja California and in the neighboring Venezuela: Solapamiento institucional state of Baja California Sur. Noviembre de 1998 rural-urbano del mercado de suelo The Mexicali case offers some “Perspectivas políticas comparativas Olivier Delahaye sobre la reforma del mercado de la important lessons. First, the property tax tierra urbana” Gareth A. Jones Acceso por los pobres al suelo urbano plays a central role in strengthening local y mercado inmobiliario en Lima metro- governments, not only for raising suffi- Septiembre de 1998 politana Julio Calderón Cockburn cient revenues for urban development but “Instrumentos reguladores y fiscales La reforma al sistema fiscal sobre la also for providing government officials para la captura de plusvalías: El caso propiedad inmobiliaria en Mexicali: de Santo André, Brasil” Jeroen Klink, with the skills to organize the tax system 1989–1998 Manuel Perló Cohen y Luis Carlos Alfonso y Irineu Luis R. Zamorano Ruiz in a way that can be sound, legitimate Bagnariolli Jr. and transparent. Políticas de regularização fundiária: Julio de 1998 Justificação, impactos e sustentabili- Second, property tax reform requires dade Betânia Alfonsin vision, leadership and, most of all, political “Foro internacional sobre regularización y mercados de la tierra” will and commitment from the executive. Evictions and Human Rights: An Peter M. Ward Ethnographic Study of Development However, successful reform to raise taxes and Land Disputes in Bogotá, Colombia also depends on a sound technical base Mayo de 1998 Margaret Everett and acceptance by the general public. “La regularización de la tierra urbana Third, the land value tax proved to be en Perú” Julio Calderón Cockburn extremely helpful in achieving successful

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 19997 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY Ecological and Social Dynamics in Veracruz, Mexico

exico’s geographic proximity, omic realm and the physical environment. Loeb Fellows, 1998–1999 the historic complexity of its The city of Xalapa is facing this period (*) Those who traveled to Mexico and M interdependent relationship of transition by attempting to redefine its contributed to this report. with the United States, and changing social commitments and civic conscious- • Andrew Altman immigration and socio-economic dynam- ness through innovative collaborations Director of City Planning ics make it a fascinating country to visit between the local and state governments Oakland, California and study, as six Loeb Fellows from the and the university. An important priority • Hillary Brown Harvard Design School discovered recent- is for new and upgraded housing to accom- Assistant Commissioner ly. Their trip in late May to Xalapa, the modate the fast-growing urban population. Department of Design and Construction capital of the state of Veracruz, was the cul- As in most of Mexico, housing New York, New York affordability and availability is • Marcie Cohen * inextricably linked to land use Director of Development policies governing the disposi- AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust tion of vast tracts of rural “ejido” Washington, DC lands surrounding most urban • David Franczyk areas. Tax burdens, the lack of City Council Member available financing and the Buffalo, New York absence of strong planning and • Kathryn E. Freemark * economic incentives from the Landscape Ecologist Canadian Wildlife Service government have all inhibited Ottawa, Canada the opening up of this land to • Gustavo Leclerc * planned development. The ejido Partner and Founding Member societies need help to strengthen ADOBE LA (Architects, Artists and their organizational capacity so Designers Opening the Border Edge they can explore the use of land of Los Angeles) trusts, cooperative ownership Los Angeles, California Loeb Fellows meet with some of their hosts at the and other land management • Milan Ozdinec University of Veracruz. options to avoid the worst aspects Director, Office of Urban Revitalization mination of a year of independent study of urban sprawl and to provide housing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban under the auspices of the Loeb Fellowship for the poor in both urban and rural areas. Development Washington, DC Program. Through a structured exchange The state of Veracruz is poised to Wayne Ruga with academics and government officials receive an enormous infusion of capital for • President, CEO and Founder facilitated by the University of Veracruz, the infrastructure investments from national The Center for Health Design fellows explored policies and imperatives and international sources to be used for Martinez, California relating to sustainable development, public water, wastewater, energy and solid waste • Susan Schwartzenberg * policy and planning, financing mechanisms systems. Because these types of investments Photographer/Visual Artist and for delivering affordable housing, and define a region’s future development pat- Director of Media immigration issues. terns, qualitative and quantitative criteria Exploratorium The state of Veracruz is a microcosm for their implementation should be care- San Francisco, California of diverse ecological and social forces with fully analyzed. The near- and long-term • Bill Traynor * both global and local dimensions, such as ecological, economic and social dimen- Founder and Principal large-scale and rapid urbanization, deep sions of these land-based investments will Neighborhood Partners social inequalities, discrimination in land significantly alter the relationship between Cambridge, Massachusetts ownership, the need for infrastructure the state’s urban and rural populations. • Gail Vittori * development, concerns about environmen- The Loeb Fellowship Program was Co-Director Center for Maximum Potential Building tal degradation and historic preservation, established in 1970 through the generosity Systems and changing economic conditions. The of John L. Loeb, Harvard College ’24, to Austin, Texas region’s traditional dependence on the oil allow mid-career practitioners to under- industry for local employment and inter- take a year of independent study at the Contact: Armando Carbonell, senior fellow national export was greatly diminished by Design School and to help them gain addi- of the Lincoln Institute and a former Loeb the drop in oil prices in the 1980s. The tional knowledge and tools necessary to Fellow ([email protected]), or James impact of this change has been felt nation- revitalize the built and natural environment. G. Stockard, Jr., curator of the Loeb Fellow- wide, creating an atmosphere that allows The fellows’ travel to Mexico was supported ship Program ([email protected]). unplanned development in both the econ- in part by the Lincoln Institute.

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY8 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 Dissertation Fellowships

he Lincoln Institute’s dissertation Christopher W. Hoene for vacant parcels in post-industrial cities; fellowship program supports Ph.D. Department of Politics and Policy Claremont Graduate University however, municipal students whose research focuses agencies involved with T Fiscal Stress, Land Use and vacant land manage- on some aspect of land use and tax policy. ment tend to disagree. The program provides an important link Municipal Governance: Two Decades of California’s Non-profit organiza- between the Institute’s educational and tions, often based in Post-Proposition 13 Regime research objectives by supporting scholars neighborhoods charac- Two decades after terized by disinvestment early in their careers. These 20 students California voters passed and blight, have successfully accessed vacant are receiving fellowships to pursue their Proposition 13, city land for small-scale agriculture. Yet the policy governments continue thesis research during the 1999–2000 contexts relevant to urban farming differ to cope with its provi- across cities. Case studies of cities with signi- academic year. They are listed alphabeti- sions and progeny. To- ficant amounts of vacant land and active ur- cally by the program area that best fits day, fiscally strapped ban agriculture and community development cities have few alter- their thesis topic. movements will be used to outline a theo- natives for raising reve- retical framework for this emerging issue nues. One option is to in central city planning and land use. increase tax revenues through development efforts targeting retail business. Another op- Program on the Taxation tion is to impose fees, charges and assessments Ciro Biderman of Land and Buildings on city residents. This study examines the fac- Department of Urban Studies & Planning tors that determine how cities have used these Massachusetts Institute of Technology options. Using a sample of 100 cities and a and CEBRAP—Brazilian Center for Analysis Asli Ball panel methodology from 1972–1997, the pro- and Planning Faculty of the Built Environment ject seeks to provide insight into the relation- ships between fiscal policy, land use and South Bank University, London Modeling the Transport System, municipal governance. Land Prices and Living Conditions Development Charges: in Greater São Paulo Theory and British Practice Program on Land Markets The demographic composition of the São Development charges Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA) has changed are contributions re- dramatically over the last few decades. Three Jerry Anthony quired by local planning significant factors are migration patterns, the authorities to grant Department of Urban & Regional Planning population’s spatial location and the distrib- permission for develop- Florida State University ution of the labor force among the manufac- ment. In Britain, the in- State Growth Management turing, industrial and service sectors. At the strument for requiring same time, the local and state governments development charges is Regulations and Their Impacts have influenced growth patterns. This study established though plan- on Affordable Housing will develop a model from studying the forces ning obligations, the While growth manage- pushing people in and out of the city, such as main feature of which is negotiation between ment policies have con- the public transportation system, commuting the local planning authorities, developers and siderable potential to times and urban land prices. By using the landowners to determine the scope, scale and improve the quality of model to generate future data and contrast- timing of the contributions. This investigation life in the nation’s com- ing it with actual records, this dissertation aims to determine whether development munities, they could will propose policies that can improve the charges are economically efficient and also impose additional living conditions in the region. equitable tools for land use planning and social costs. This study property taxation. examines the impacts of state-wide growth man- Sarah S. Gardner agement regulations on housing affordability Claudia M. De Cesare Department of Political Science in the state of Florida. It uses three quasi- City University of New York Department of Surveying experimental research designs: an interrupted University of Salford, England time-series analysis over a 20-year period; a Green Visions for Brownfields: An Empirical Analysis of Equity hedonic model of housing prices before and The Local Politics of Site Remediation after regulations were put in place; and an in Property Taxation: A Case Study and Redevelopment examination of changes in housing price dis- In theory, state brown- from Brazil tribution over the period. The findings will fields programs appear Major criticisms of prop- illustrate differences in impacts caused by to be the ideal solution erty taxation are assess- supply constraints from those caused by in- to the problems of en- ment biases in the tax creased demand, identify factors that can vironmental degrada- base estimate and the alleviate the impacts, and aid policymakers tion and economic possibility of a relatively in lowering the social costs of growth depression in older in- higher burden placed on management regulations. dustrial cities. These low-income taxpayers. programs seek to reme- Focusing on individual diate contaminated sites Martin Bailkey apartments, this study by devolving responsibility to local govern- analyzes equity in the property tax system in Department of Urban & Regional Planning ments, loosening cleanup standards, and soli- the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. A multivariate University of Wisconsin-Madison citing private sector investment. In practice, model is used to investigate bias caused by a An Interpretation of the Contexts however, poor cities lack the organizational number of independent factors, including sale capacity to address their contaminated site price. Property tax is also examined according within which Vacant Land is Assessed problems adequately. Through a comparative to a measure of taxpayers’ income. The impli- for Urban Agriculture study of the implementation of New Jersey’s cations of assessment bias on revenue and al- Urban agriculture advocates in the United Brownfield Program in four distressed muni- ternatives for reducing inequity are discussed. States view food production as a viable use cipalities, this research focuses on the con-

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 19999 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY straints that cities face in shaping brownfields and seismic hazards. This study aims to answer the project highlights redevelopment to benefit urban residents three questions: 1) What impact has this law the limitations of efforts and communities. had on markets for developed property? 2) that attempt to demo- What impact has it had on markets for vacant cratically empower land? and 3) How do these effects vary with neighborhood organiza- Thomas O. Jackson demographic indicators, including housing tions in the “trenches,” Department of Landscape Architecture supply-demand balance and neighborhood independent of their & Urban Planning socio-economic status? The study uses both influence on city-wide Texas A&M University hedonic analysis of housing prices and survey forces. In particular, it methods. will examine immigrant The Effects of Environmental political incorporation, race and ethnic rela- Contamination on Commercial tions, inter-group conflict and cooperation, and Industrial Real Estate Program on Land and the role of voluntary associations. Environmental contami- as Common Property nation can have signi- Andrea I. Frank ficant effects on the Department of Urban & Regional Planning market value of com- David A. Chang University of Michigan mercial and industrial Department of History real estate. These effects University of Wisconsin-Madison Geopolitical Fragmentation: have implications for Implications for the Social Structure property taxation, brown- Race, Policy and the Politics of Land and Natural Environment of Urban field redevelopment Ownership in Eastern Oklahoma, efforts and mortgage Areas 1890–1950 lending. This research includes surveys that This research explores This dissertation traces focus on the risk perceptions of real estate the relationship be- the history and politics lenders and equity investors with respect to tween political frag- of rural land tenure by financing and investing in contaminated mentation, social dis- Native Americans, Afri- properties. It also examines statistical price parities and environ- can Americans and models that analyze these effects, with sales mental conditions in whites in Eastern Okla- price as a function of physical and economic urban areas in the homa. It seeks to deter- property characteristics in addition to United States. Compara- mine the changing racial environmental condition. tive spatio-temporal and gender distribution analysis of urban areas of land ownership in the displaying different governmental structures region, and to understand how that distribu- Jean Marie Templeton is employed to determine whether politically tion was shaped by the allotment of tribal College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs fragmented regions are facing greater risks lands, property taxation and subsidized farm University of Illinois at Chicago of social inequity and environmental decline. mortgage loans. The project examines claims The research will provide a broadened per- of discrimination in these policies and traces Water Policy in Illinois: spective on the issue of political fragmenta- how poor people organized politically in Seeking the Path of Least Resistance tion and respond to the growing demand for their efforts to keep or gain access to land. Water issues have been sustainable urban development by contribut- studied extensively in ing to the debate on the requirements for the Western states, but Lewis W. Dijkstra the governance of metropolitan regions less research has been Department of Planning & Public Policy under the sustainability paradigm. done in areas with more water resources. In Illi- Rutgers University—The State University nois, the technical as- of New Jersey Joongsub Kim pects of water resources Department of City & Regional Planning Public Spaces: Comparing have been examined, Cornell University but little research has New Jersey to the Netherlands focused on the development of local water This research will assess What “Other” Roles Design policy or, more importantly, its implications the impact of different Reviewers Play and Their Effects for land use decisions. This study examines land use, transportation on Design Review and tourism policies on the structure of intergovernmental relation- This research aims to im- public spaces in small ships regarding water distribution in Illinois, prove the current design cities and towns of New and how these policy decisions impact land review process in the Jersey and the Nether- use in the Chicago metropolitan area. Parti- planning departments lands. Six characteristics cular attention is paid to how the shift from of U.S. cities. Design of public space will be groundwater to surface water supplies affects reviewers have several analyzed: 1) its accessi- land use patterns on the suburban fringe. significant roles that the bility and proximity to other uses; 2) how current design review many and what types of people use it; 3) its literature often over- Austin Remy Troy use restrictions; 4) its historic and authentic looks, including con- quality; 5) its ownership; and 6) whether the Department of Environmental Science, venor, facilitator, therapist and educator. public can influence the governance of the Policy and Management Studying these four roles may offer important space. University of California at Berkeley insights to improve the design review process. Case study research comparing design review An Assessment of the California Vojislava Filipcˇ evi´´c examples in Boston, Seattle and Albany will Natural Hazard Disclosure Law Department of Urban Planning investigate whether or not playing these roles (AB 1195) has positive effects on the process, the out- Columbia University In 1998, California pas- come and the participants, as well as the sed a hazard disclosure Beyond Urban Trenches?: larger community. law (state bill AB 1195) Neighborhood Politics and Power requiring property sel- in New York City lers to inform potential The project examines how neighborhood buyers of several types politics may reflect on city-wide actors and of natural hazards that institutions. Based on empirical qualitative may affect the property, research in New York City neighborhoods, including flood, wildfire

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY10 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 Richard K. Norton cally investigate how and why different re- Department of City & Regional Planning form choices in Eastern Europe are affecting University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill farm-household tenure security. The research will also examine how this security is affect- Institute Publishes Mixed Motivations: ing production decisions on one hand and Local Commitment to Land Use Plan the legal institutional environment for land 1999–2000 Catalog Development and Implementation conflict resolution on the other. in Coastal North Carolina How does local commit- Spencer D. Wood ment to both the process Department of Sociology & Rural Sociology and the goals of land University of Wisconsin-Madison use planning affect the development and imple- Forty Acres of Freedom and the Last mentation of land use Plantation: The Jeffersonian Path to plans? Focusing on land Citizenship in the Mississippi Delta, use planning required 1935–1998 by the North Carolina Coastal Area Manage- This community study ment Act, plan development and implemen- explores the connections tation outcomes will be evaluated by analy- between land owner- zing the content of local CAMA plans and ship and citizenship in conducting surveys of local planning directors the Mississippi Delta by and county and city managers. Building on relying on local land that analysis, case study communities will be records, historical docu- identified and planning outcomes for those ments, statistical data communities will be examined in depth. and interviews. In the late 1930s the Farm Security Administration (FSA) of the U.S. De- Daniel Serda partment of Agriculture administered a land Department of Urban Studies & Planning reform program that established 13 all-black Massachusetts Institute of Technology agrarian communities and helped sharecrop- pers purchase their own farms. By planting Remembering Place and Community: the seeds of strong civic associations among a Heritage, Empowerment and the formerly disenfranchised and landless group, The Lincoln Institute has Politics of Neighborhood Revitalization the FSA initiated a significant transformation of southern rural society. Recent development published its annual catalog initiatives in some inner incorporating descriptions of city neighborhoods have Isaac F. Zama focused on a combina- Land Tenure Center, tion of historic preserva- three program areas and listings Development Studies Program tion and cultural tour- of all its courses and conferences, ism to strengthen com- University of Wisconsin-Madison munity identity, empow- Land Tenure Rights and Conflict curriculum development and er neighborhood resi- Management in Cameroon: A Case dents, and lay a foun- research projects, dissertation dation for economic and social revitalization. Study of the Mount Kilum/Ijim This study will include interviews with private Community Forestry Reserve fellowships, and publications. developers, public officials, and the staffs of Cameroon is one of community-based organizations in three such many African countries This illustrated catalog offers neighborhoods. The goal is to determine how undertaking an experi- heritage-based development complicates the ment in sustainable use a comprehensive overview of politics of development while reshaping the and management of physical and symbolic landscape of the inner natural resources the Institute’s mission and its city. through Community Based Natural Resources activities for the current Management Projects Rachel E. Wheeler (CBNRM). The Mount academic year. Department of Development/Agricultural Kilum/Ijim Community Forestry Project aims Economics to develop a community forest for conserva- University of Madison-Wisconsin tion purposes and eventually devolve control If you wish to receive a copy and benefits to local communities. However, Property Reform Policy Choice some participants in these projects seem un- of the 1999–2000 catalog, and Family Conflict in Albania and aware of or willing to ignore the structural Romania: Implications for Land impact of more than 30 years of post-colonial please email your request with Use Rights land policies on local institutions and their ability to manage resources communally. This Many of the economic your complete mailing address research seeks to use the Mount Kilum/Ijim and political consider- case to examine the incompatibility between to [email protected]. ations used to justify idealized CBNRM goals envisioned by a 1994 land reform choices in community forestry law and those of the Please allow three to four weeks Albania and Romania contemporary villages around the reserve. since 1990 failed to for delivery. Most sections of adequately anticipate the severity and nature the catalog are also posted on of property conflict that emerged. The twofold our Web page (www.lincolninst. purpose of this research is to develop the theoretical relationships between ‘reform edu) for easy reference. type’ and ‘nature of conflict,’ and to empiri-

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 199911 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY Curriculum Development and Research Projects

incoln Institute staff and fellows These complexities require that policy Land Values and Taxation: conduct research and develop cur- analysis encompass political, administrative New Challenges in the Chinese and valuation issues, as well as the theore- Transitional Economy riculum materials on land use, land L tical justification for the tax. The adminis- Chengri Ding, Department of Urban markets and land-related tax policies to tration of the tax, and especially the valua- Planning, Texas A&M University provide the substantive foundation for the tion process, will critically affect its ultimate Institute’s educational programs. The In- impact. This program area, therefore, ap- Improvement Tax Experience stitute also contracts with practitioners proaches the taxation of land and buildings in Perú from many perspectives, including political and scholars to encourage and support theory, economic analysis and legal studies. Magarita Gamarra Huayapa, Department investigations that contribute to the body It supports work by and courses for a wide of Urban Planning, National University of of knowledge about our primary program range of experts and audiences, from acad- Engineering, Lima, Perú areas. The results of these projects, case emic theorists to property tax assessors, and The Administrative Feasibility studies and analyses are used to develop from state tax judges to local land trust officials. of Site Value Taxation course modules and curriculum materials, Policy issues related to the taxation Thomas Johnstone, International Property and are published in a variety of formats. of land and buildings include the impact Tax Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Curriculum development projects and likely future of tax limitation measures, funded for the 1999–2000 academic year debate over the use of local taxes as a source State Rules and City Property Tax Rules are listed below alphabetically by principal of school finance, and efforts to promote environmental values by reducing taxes Barbara Coyle McCabe, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, and investigator within program areas. on open space. In the international sphere, taxes on land and buildings can offer special Richard C. Feiock, Askew School of Public denotes research projects in the benefits to transition economies facing new Administration and Policy, Florida State University Latin American Program regimes of property rights, privatization, decentralization and restitution. Compara- tive international experience also provides Limits on Local Property Taxes a rich array of alternative approaches to Therese J. McGuire, College of Urban Program on the Taxation defining the public share of real property Planning and Public Affairs, and Institute of of Land And Buildings value. Government and Public Affairs, University The program on the taxation of land and of Illinois at Chicago buildings deals with the feasibility, political Strengthening Local Property Taxes acceptability, economic impact and appro- in South Africa: Current Practices and Evaluation of Michigan’s Renaissance priate use of value-based taxes on immov- Challenges for the Post-Apartheid Era Zone Initiative able property, with special attention to the Michael E. Bell, MEB Associates, Inc., Gary Sands, Urban Planning Program, valuation process. A variety of revenue in- Kensington, Maryland, and John H. Wayne State University struments may be analyzed in these terms, Bowman, Department of Economics, particularly with regard to their recovery for Virginia Commonwealth University Gentrification and Property Taxes: public purposes of land value increments Comparative Study in Land attributable to public investment. These Value Capture Financing Techniques: Valuation include annual capital-value taxes, taxes A Shift toward Land Taxation? Joseph L. Scarpaci, Department of Urban based on rental value, taxes on increases in Affairs and Planning, Virginia Polytechnic J. Thomas Black, Lincoln Institute of Land property value, and public charges, as well Institute and State University as fees, impositions and rental charges for Policy land use and development. The Property Tax as a Coordinating Tax Increment Financing: While these instruments offer special Mechanism: Internal Improvement A Theoretical Inquiry benefits, they also face unique practical and Investment in Early Nineteenth Century political obstacles. Unlike an income tax, a Jan K. Brueckner, Department of Econom- America capital-value tax is not withheld from salary, ics and Institute of Government and Public John Joseph Wallis, Department of and unlike a sales or value-added tax, its Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana- Economics, University of Maryland annual accounting is highly visible to the Champaign taxpayer. The accountability and transpar- A New Edition of ency thus achieved carry a heavy political Property Tax in Czech and Slovak “Our Land and Land Policy” price, particularly when owners face prop- Republics Kenneth C. Wenzer, Takoma Park, erty tax increases that rise more rapidly Phillip J. Bryson and Gary C. Cornia, Maryland than their cash income. Moreover, a capital- Marriott School of Management, Brigham value tax requires the assessing body to Young University estimate values for parcels that have not recently changed hands in a market transaction.

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY12 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 Spillover Effects of Nonprofit Facilities Infrastructure, Environmental Inner Cities and Outer Cities: on Neighboring Land Use: Implications Degradation and Land Values: The Aerial Photography and the Imaging for Tax Exemption and Zoning Policies Case of TucuruÌ in the Brazilian Amazon of Urban Space Julian Wolpert, Department of Geography, Henri Acselrad, Institute for Urban and Dolores Hayden, School of Architecture, Public Affairs and Urban Planning, Wood- Regional Planning and Research, Federal Yale University, and Alex MacLean, row Wilson School, Princeton University University of Rio de Janeiro Landslides Aerial Photography, Cambridge, Massachusetts Program on Land Markets Neighborhoods as Factories: How Urban Land Markets Create Productive An Empirical Investigation of Anti- Land markets affect individual behavior, community character and the nation as a Settings Sprawl Policies within the Atlanta, whole. We are interested in broadening our Solomon Benjamin, Consultant, Bangalore, Georgia, Metropolitan Region understanding of how land markets operate; India Keith Ihlanfeldt, Department of the intended and unintended consequences Economics, Georgia State University of these market operations; options for im- Government and Vacant Land: proving their operation; and the effects of Creating Cityscapes Urban Agriculture for Community market interventions. The program focuses Ann O’M. Bowman, Department of Development Corporations on four related themes. The first two, urban- Government and International Studies, Jerry Kaufman, Department of Urban and ization and real estate cycles, address the University of South Carolina, and Michael Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin- land market itself. A. Pagano, Department of Political Science, Madison While it is impossible to understand the Miami University urbanization process without also recogniz- Constructing the Sustainability ing labor and capital markets, global and Land Values and Urban Infra- Conditions of a Low Income technological forces, and socio-political in- structure Provision in Squatter Housing Market in the Rio de Janeiro stitutions, our emphasis is on the role of Settlements in Lima, Perú Metropolitan Area land values and land uses. A major challenge is to make scholarly research on land markets Julio A. Calderón Cockburn, Consultant, Luciana Lago and Dayse Gois, Institute accessible to policymakers and community- Lima, Perú for Urban and Regional Planning and based organizations, and we are building Research, Federal University of Rio de on current work with state legislators and Efficient Urbanization: The Economic Janeiro other public officials to provide useful infor- Productivity Implications of City Size, mation for their deliberations. A conference Urban Form and Metropolitan Mobility Public Investments and Market on land supply monitoring and GIS will en- Robert Cervero, Department of City and Dynamics in Brazilian Slums hance our ability to monitor and disseminate Regional Planning, University of California- Helena Menna Barreto Silva, Laboratory information on land markets to public and Berkeley, and Douglas Keare, Lincoln of Housing and Urban Settlements, School private stakeholders. Institute of Land Policy of Architecture and Urbanism, University A second theme involves the causes and of São Paulo consequences of real estate cycles, such as Understanding Brownfield Redevel- inefficiencies in land supply, financing and opment: What Determines the Use of Spatial Segregation and Exclusion construction. Some analysts argue that the Contaminated Land? in Latin America Asian economic crisis is inextricably linked with national land policy and land markets. Margaret Dewar, College of Architecture Francisco Sabatini, Institute of Urban and Urban Planning, University of Michigan; Planning, Catholic University of Chile To advance our understanding of this issue, the Institute will be organizing two confer- Sabina Deitrick, Graduate School of Public ences on land market cycles and the causes and International Affairs, University of The Impact of Manufactured Housing Pittsburgh; and Marie Howland, School on the Value of Adjacent Residential of real estate booms and busts. The other two themes, segregation and of Architecture, University of Maryland Properties Revisited: A GIS-Assisted urban vacant land, focus on contemporary Spatial Analysis Urban Land Management for issues resulting from failures in the land Guogiang Shen and Mulatu Wubneh, market that have important policy implica- Mobility: Santiago, Chile Department of Planning, East Carolina tions. Segregation is both a reflection of Ralph Gakenheimer and Christopher University and a contributor to land market inefficien- Zegras, Department of Urban Studies and cies. We seek to understand more about its Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Access to Land and Municipal causes and consequences, as well as tools to Technology, and Juan Escudero, National Land Taxation as a Means for ameliorate segregation based on research Center for the Environment (CENMA), Financing Urban Development and experience in the United States, Latin Santiago, Chile Daniela Simioni, Economic Commission for America and other regions. Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Economic recovery and rising land prices The Thinning Metropolis: Land Use, Santiago Chile have stimulated increased use of vacant and Land Values, and Population Decline in underutilized land, although lack of infor- Midsized-Cities in the U.S. Heartland Densification Policies in Texas Colonias mation, land assembly problems and prep- William Goldsmith, Ann Esnard and Rolf Peter Ward, Institute of Latin American aration costs present significant obstacles Pendall, Department of City and Regional to private-sector development. Furthermore, Studies, University of Texas, Austin Planning, Cornell University many abandoned urban sites are not com- petitive with suburban greenfields for in- Commercial Property Values and dustrial and commercial development. The Proximity to Light Rail: A Hedonic Institute will continue to work with urban Price Model Based on Rental Data universities and community organizations Christopher Wornum and Rachel for whom relocation is not an option to Weinberger, Cambridge Systematics, Inc. help them learn how to revitalize their neighborhoods.

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 199913 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY Program on Land elop curriculum materials including a manual Water Resource Planning for Environ- on “Reinventing Edge Cities,” based on mental Zoning: Sustaining Resources as Common Property RPA’s work in New Jersey and elsewhere. through Growth Management This program area is developed around five Institutions and decision processes is a Pamela DiBona, Charles River Watershed themes. The first, visualizing change, focuses long-standing Institute focus area that seeks on the development and application of Association, Bennet Heart, Conservation to improve planning systems and planning Law Foundation, and Ezra Glenn, McGregor techniques to enable participants in the outcomes at the local, regional, state and & Associates, Boston, Massachusetts planning process, including citizens, public national levels. Building on our existing officials and developers, to understand the growth management program for state Ecology, Conservation and Land Use: likely results of planning and policy imple- planning directors from the northeastern mentation. Teaching materials and courses A Primer for Planners, Developers and United States, we will also develop a pro- Conservationists present the effective application of visual gram for planning directors in the western tools and techniques, such as geographic states. A course on mediation of land use Dan L. Perlman, Conservation Biologist, information systems and three-dimensional disputes will be offered for the first time, Newton, Massachusetts simulation. using new material developed under Insti- The topic of environmental foundations tute sponsorship. We will also continue to Back from the Edge: Reinventing is concerned with the role of natural systems present the course “Land Use in America,” “Edge Cities” in shaping the land development process. which has been designed for Environmental Robert D. Yaro and Robert N. Lane, A primary need is to familiarize professional Protection Agency officials. Regional Plan Association, New York planners, local planning officials, developers The land ethics and property rights and landowners with basic ecological con- theme acknowledges the importance of Land, Property Rights and cepts and their applications. Planning prac- private property rights within a constellation National Resources Ownership titioners and biologists will help the Insti- of obligations to legitimate public interests. in the Context of Environmental tute develop an ecology primer and we will Program activities in this area include a Sustainability in a Market Economy support a prototypical application of envi- series of seminars and course materials that ronmental science in land use planning. bring together diverse and even polar per- Jorge Rabinovich, Program of Environ- The planning and design interventions spectives on this value-laden theme. Some mental Development and Research, Depart- theme deals with intentional efforts to specific projects will address international ment of Research, Belgrano University, affect the land development process to experiences in leasing public land and the Argentina achieve specified goals, such as fostering relationship between property rights and sustainable development. A promising area natural resources ownership in the context for such interventions is found in the exist- of environmental sustainability in a market ing sprawl landscape, and we will work with economy. the Regional Plan Association (RPA) to dev-

Central Valley Permit the emergence of an urban There is still time to shape a different continued from page 3 ladder: A final possibility is to permit the outcome in the Valley, if civic leaders work development of what might be called an together in a conscious attempt to design Create a “string of pearls” along urban ladder: a network of urban and a set of workable urban development pat- Highway 99: For most of this century, suburban areas that run up and down the terns that will operate efficiently and effec- Highway 99 has been the Central Valley’s Valley along Highway 99 and Interstate 5, tively for urban dwellers, for employers, “main drag.” Virtually all of the Valley’s and then run across the Valley on a series for agriculturalists, and for the natural older urban centers are located along this of east-west rungs along smaller roads that environment. corridor. One possible strategy would be connect the two freeway corridors. In to concentrate future urban development many ways, the urban ladder is the most William Fulton is editor of California up and down Highway 99, creating a likely possibility, simply because it con- Planning and Development Report, string of urban and suburban pearls. In nects existing cities and towns with prob- contributing editor of Planning magazine, point of fact, the string of pearls is already able new areas for urban growth by using and correspondent for Governing magazine. emerging in some places. New develop- the available transportation corridors. Contact: [email protected] or, for more ment districts are being created along the At the same time, however, it holds the information about the Great Valley Center, corridor to the north and south of existing potential to create more “suburban see www.greatvalley.org. cities and towns because of access to this sprawl” than any other option. major transportation artery. Many of these options are already Encourage the creation of new towns emerging as an actual urban pattern in in the foothills on the west side of the certain parts of the Valley, and it is unlike- Valley: The so-called “Foothill Strategy” ly that there is a “one-size fits all” answer has been discussed for several years in for the entire Valley. But, unless the civic some parts of the Valley. Foothill new leaders of the Valley confront the issue of towns would place commuters closer to urban growth head-on, it is likely that the Bay Area jobs and protect prime farmland Valley will adopt the sprawling and ineffi- on the Valley floor. However, water and cient land use patterns that characterize infrastructure finance issues make this Los Angeles and California’s other coastal strategy very difficult to achieve. metropolitan areas.

LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY14 LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 1999 Recent Working Papers Request Form LL 9/99

COMPLIMENTARY INFORMATION: To receive further information on Lincoln Institute Public Policy and “Rural Sprawl”: programs, please complete and return this form: Lessons from Northeast Ohio __ Land Lines __ Institute Catalog This report presents an in-depth, micro- PUBLICATIONS ORDERS: To order specific Lincoln Institute publications, fill in the level look at land use and development in items you wish, add up the total cost, including shipping and handling, and send a traditionally rural but now rapidly grow- this form with prepayment by check or credit card to Lincoln Institute Information ing county of northeast Ohio; it also ex- Services. Institutions and booksellers, please call 800/LAND-USE (526-3873) for special ordering instructions. plores the policy framework relevant to that development. Medina County, which TITLE PRICE QUANTITY TOTAL lies southwest of Cuyahoga County and its ______central city of Cleveland, is experiencing ______rapid population growth and loss of farm- ______land. Whereas residential development previously occurred in platted subdivisions ______in the cities or villages, construction of * Within the U.S., add $3.50 for the first item SUBTOTAL ______and $.50 for each additional item. For rush single-family homes on five-to-ten acre and overseas orders, call the Lincoln SHIPPING AND HANDLING* ______Institute at 800/LAND-USE (800/526-3873) in parcels on rural roads has greatly increased. the U.S., or 617-661-3016 from outside the U.S. TOTAL ENCLOSED (prepayment is required) ______By default public policy has promoted unplanned growth. There is no official FORM OF PAYMENT: ___ Check (payable in U.S. funds to Lincoln Institute of Land Policy) county-wide, much less regional or state- Credit Card: ___ Visa ___ Mastercard ___ American Express wide, perspective on development. While Card Number ______Exp. Date______many residents do not like the growth they Signature (required for credit card orders) ______see, they are leery of larger level compre- hensive planning. Without strong action MAILING INFORMATION: Please type or print clearly. Thank you. by state and local governments, however, Name ______development will continue to “nibble” at Medina county’s prime farmland. GIS-based Job Title ______analysis of the type used in this research Organization ______may produce the evidence needed to build Street Address ______support for stronger public sector action. City ______State ______Zip ______Country ______Patricia Burgess is a land use consultant and researcher. Thomas Bier is director of the Hous- Phone (______)______Fax (______) ______ing Policy Research Program, at the Urban Center, Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State Email ______University. 1998. WP98PB2, 46 pp., $9.00

Planning for Sustainable Develop- Please check the appropriate categories below so we can send you additional ment: Measuring Progress in Plans material of interest.

This study sets forth a set of six principles 1. Profession ___ Lawyer (09) ___ Business or industry (BS) ___ Land and tax policy in that define and operationalize the concept (check one) ___ Legislator/Council/ ___ Educational Institution (ED) Latin America (25) ___ Architect/Landscape Commissioner/Staff (13) ___ Other nonprofit (NP) ___ Natural resources & of sustainable development. Using these architect/ Urban ___ Librarian/Archivist (16) ___ Student (ST) the environment (02) six principles, a sample of 30 comprehen- designer (20) ___ Planner (12) ___ Other (99) ___ Open space (33) ___ Assessor/Appraiser (01) ___ Real estate broker/ ___ Public facilities and sive plans is evaluated to determine how ___ Banker/Lender (07) Agent (18) 3. Areas of interest services (22) well the policies of plans support sustain- ___ Business executive (11) ___ Tax administrator (15) (check up to four) ___ Real estate ___ Computer analyst/ ___ Other (99) ___ Capital financing (10) development (08) able development. Findings indicate no Specialist (02) ___ Economic/Community ___ Rural planning (31) significant differences in how extensively ___ Conservationist (04) 2. Type of organiza- development (21) ___ Tax policy: Int’l. ___ Developer/Builder (05) tion/affiliation ___ Ethics of land use (03) comparisons (29) sustainability principles are supported ___ Economist (06) (check one) ___ Governance and public ___ Tax and revenue between plans that state an intention to ___ Other social scientist ___ Local/County management (30) systems (13) (14) government (LG) ___ Growth management (04) ___ Transportation (23) integrate sustainable development and ___ Engineer (19) ___ State/Provincial ___ Housing (18) ___ Urban design (26) those that do not. In addition, plans do ___ Environmentalist (23) government (SG) ___ Land data systems (07) ___ Urban planning (14) ___ Finance officer (24) ___ Regional government ___ Land economics (09) ___ Valuation/ not provide balanced support of all six ___ Government executive (RG) ___ Land law and regulation Assessment/Appraisal sustainability principles, but rather sup- or staff (10) ___ Federal/National (11) (28) ___ Journalist (08) government (FG) ___ Land policy: port one principle much more than others. ___ Judge/Other judicial ___ Professional or Int’l. comparisons (05) official (17) Consulting firm (PC) Philip Berke is associate professor of Land Use and Environmental Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Maria Manta is a Please mail or fax this form (with your check or credit card information) to: doctoral candidate in City and Regional Planning LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Information Services, 113 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3400 1999. WP99PB1, 32 pp., $9.00 FAX 617/661-7235 or 800/LAND-944 • Email: [email protected]

LAND LINES • SEPTEMBER 199915 LINCOLN INSTITUTE OF LAND POLICY Calendar Contact: Lincoln Institute, 800/LAND-USE (526-3873) On the Web or [email protected], unless otherwise noted. www.lincolninst.edu ¿Habla Español? Urban Upgrading Workshop: Livable Communities and Property Tax Cosponsored with the World Sustainable Development: Developments in Africa: Bank Institute Audio Conference Training National Tax Association We are developing a Span- SEPTEMBER 13–17 Series cosponsored with Annual Conference ish-language feature (see Washington, DC the American Planning OCTOBER 24–26 Contact: [email protected] Association Atlanta, Georgia page 7 of this newsletter). OCTOBER 13 Contact: NTA, 202/737-3325 Land Use in America: Contact: [email protected] or [email protected] Review our publications list Training Seminar for of more than 80 books, Environmental Protection Urban Segregation and The Impacts of Electric Agency, Region I Value Capture Roundtables: Utility Deregulation on policy focus reports and In- SEPTEMBER 16-–17 Association of Collegiate Property Taxation stitute-supported working Cambridge, Massachusetts Schools of Planning OCTOBER 28–29 Annual Conference Cambridge, Massachusetts papers. Download selected State Tax Judges: 19th OCTOBER 21–24 working papers for free. Annual National Conference Chicago, Illinois Mediating Land Use Disputes SEPTEMBER 23–25 Contact: Pat Jackson Gleason, NOVEMBER 18–19 To order any of these pub- Portland, Oregon ACSP, 850/907-0092, pgleason@ Cambridge, Massachusetts acsp.org lications, use the order form Urban Development and Land Use Regulation and in this newsletter, email to Infrastructure Planning: Real Estate Cycles the Freedom of Expression: Cosponsored with Interna- OCTOBER 22–23 Audio Conference Training [email protected], or tional Center for Land Policy Cambridge, Massachusetts Series cosponsored with Studies and Training the American Planning call 800/LAND-USE (526- OCTOBER 11–NOVEMBER 19 Association 3873). Taipei, Taiwan DECEMBER 1 Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected]

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land policy and taxation. By supporting multi-disciplinary Lincoln Institute of Land Policy research, educational and publications programs, the 113 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3400 Tel: 617/661-3016 Fax: 617/661-7235 Institute brings together diverse viewpoints to expand the body of Email: [email protected] (editorial content) useful knowledge in three program areas: taxation of land and build- [email protected] (information services)

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