Land Take and Value Capture: Towards More Efficient Land Use

Abstract

The paper aims to explore the possibilities to enhance the efficiency of land use, considering the evolution of land take (LT), and proposes the use of public value capture (PVC) instruments in selected differently experienced countries. This answers two fundamental questions. How is the concept of LT positioned in relation to the environmental policy of Europe? Which PVC instruments could stimulate more efficient land use? The aim of this article is to identify which tools can guide the transformations of the urban environment by promoting more efficient land use. These tools have been identified in the mechanisms for capturing value as they can pursue the goal of a more attractive net LT. For these reasons, the article initially analyzes the spread of the problem of land consumption, at a European level, showing how this phenomenon is very diversified not only between individual states, but also within each nation. In addition, the knowledge system to define the main initiatives and actions aimed at orienting urban development in the direction of reducing land consumption is highlighted. Subsequently, the theoretical framework concerning the issues relating to the capture of public value in urban planning operations is illustrated. The case studies representing the various European contexts are then introduced, and for each case the dynamics of urban development were analyzed. It has been done in relation to the evolution of the regulatory apparatus of territorial governance and its transformations. On the basis of this analysis, indicators have been defined. Their goal is to allow comparing the results that emerged from the case study analysis, which would otherwise have been inconsistent. In this way, it is possible to demonstrate how land use is more efficient in countries where PVC tools are used systemically and how these tools make it easier to guide urban transformations in line with the principles of sustainable development.

Making land available. Cultural legal comparison of the German Building Land Mobilisation Act and the partial revision of the Swiss Spatial Planning Act

“…While the mechanism works in the vast majority of cases, in individual cases it can be seen that even in economically attractive locations some of the suitable land remains effectively unavailable for building development. Certain owners resist the economic added value of building development and leave their land underused or unused, despite it being designated as suitable for development (Colsaet/Laurans/Levrel 2018;Botticini/Auzins/Lacoere et al 2022). In terms of the plan-led planning system, owners thus have a veto position in the implementation of land-use planning, which counteracts the increasing performance-based orientation of spatial planning (Gerber 2016).…”

Evolution and Transformation Analysis of Land-use in Mountainous “Granary”—Evidence from Typical Basin in Karst Mountainous Areas of Southwest China

“…In recent years, agricultural production has undergone a transition, which has brought forward a more urgent need for research on the transition of cultivated land-use [54,55]. How are we to guide the land-use transition to adapt to the local natural environmental conditions and the regional economic and social development stage, and to make this happen in an appropriate area [56,57], putting forward higher requirements for land management? As far as the mountainous "granary" and Guizhou are concerned, the basin's land management policies and systems need to consider the land-use transition, the current land-use transition stage, and the corresponding stage of regional socio-economic transition [58].…”

Analyzing the Evolution of Land-Use Changes Related to Vegetation, in the Galicia Region, Spain: From 1990 to 2018

“…The international agendas have also specified a set of short-term measures and goals for reducing the impact of human activities on natural systems. Public bodies, on the other hand, do not always have the resources to formulate policies and plans capable of reacting to the increasing strains that the territories are subjected to [3]. Sustainable development is defined as "dissemination that meets current demands without jeopardizing future generations' ability to meet their own needs" [4].…”

“…GIS analyses based on the Corine Land Cover (CLC) database developed by the Copernicus program of the European Spatial Agency [3,9] have been developed to determine a cognitive reference framework that shows the spread of land consumption at a national level and allows comparing the spread of this phenomenon among the various European countries.…”