GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN URBAN LAND MARKET Land Management and Poverty Alleviation

1. UPA Package 3, Module 2 GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN URBAN LAND MARKETLand Management and Poverty Alleviation

2. Government Intervention In Urban Land Market • The overall objective of government administrations in land management should be to "provide the policy and administrative framework to ensure the smooth operation of the urban land market" (Farvaque and McAuslan, 1992). The framework should ensure that land is available for all needs of the society, including those of financially weaker groups, and that an environmentally, social and economically sound and sustainable development can take place.

3. Government Intervention In Urban Land Market • Three main justifications for government interventions in the urban land market are often cited: • Eliminating market imperfections and failures to increase operating efficiencies. • Removing externalities so that the social costs for land market outcomes correspond more closely to private costs. • Redistributing society's scarce resources so that disadvantaged groups can share in society's output.

4. Establishing and Improving Land Registration • Importances of land registration: • Clearly indicate legal ownership of land • Clarify ownership and minimize disputes • Collecting property taxes • Problems of improving land registration: • Institutional-- shortage of skilled and lack of interorganizational and interdepartmental coordination... • Technical-- Technical problems include the inefficiency and inflexibility of the existing system and the high standards regulated for surveys • Economical constraints-- Financial problems are incurred through high costs for subsidizing the system

5. Establishing and Improving Land Registration Land and property related data are increasingly managed within formal land information systems.as with all information systems,LIS use a combination of human and technical together with a set of organizing procedures, to produce information in support of management activities. --- Dale and McLaughlin

6. Government --- The Main Producers and Users of Land Information Use of data User Central Local Utilities Retailers government government Asset management ** ** ** ** Building permits ** ** Cultural features ** ** ** ** Customer identification ** ** ** Development control ** ** ** ** Environmental impact ** ** ** Health & safety ** ** ** ** Landownership ** ** ** ** Land market analysis ** ** ** ** Population statistics ** ** ** ** Street maintenance ** ** Taxation ** ** Utility management ** **

7. Government --- The Main Producers and Users of Land Information • Often the prime beneficiaries of a land Information System are the State and parastatal bodies .These organizations may be both producers and users of the system and may not be exposed to full market forces. • In many countries, investment in information technology has been driven by each organization’s internal need to improve the management of its own resources.

8. Paying for the Information • Once the decision to invest in an improved land information management system has been made, money for the investment must be found.This may come from grants or loans or from internal sources. In the case of government agencies,taxpayers’ money may be provided though, increasingly governments expect return on their investment through fees charged.

9. Controlling Land Use • Planning tools: • Comprehensive general plans--a plan for the long-term development of a local government jurisdiction such as a city or county. • Master plans--A comprehensive plan to guide the long-term physical development of a particular area. • Experience has shown that general and master plans tend to be static or assume slow-growing cities.

10. Controlling Land Use • Planning tools: • Strategic plans--a general plan or blueprint to enable an organization to meet the challenges of the future.  It is a process by which an organization's vision, goals, and objectives (means for achieving goals) are defined, implemented, evaluated, and updated on a continual basis as a means to adapt and thrive in an ever changing environment.

11. Controlling Land Use • Planning tools: • Structure plans --A structure plan is a tool available to the government to manage the environmental effects arising from subdivision and guides future development development . • A more appropriate and dynamic planning tool for developing countries is structure planning. This approach highlights the critical issues and prioritizes infrastructure in investments which are the key issues for shaping city growth. The structure plan includes some practical actions which are necessary to influence development towards the defined objectives.

12. Controlling Land Use • Land use zoning: • Zoning regulates the use of land in areas for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural or other land use. Zoning can be a very powerful planning tool as it permits the government to select which land uses should be allowed.

13. Combating land speculation • Legislative and Fiscal Tools: • Land Ceiling Acts • - Limiting land that a single juridical person (individual or corporation) can own. The intent behind such land ceiling acts is to ensure equitable distribution of urban land.

14. Combating land speculation • Legislative and Fiscal Tools: • Land expropriation • - Most countries have laws which permit governments to purchase or expropriate private land in the overall interest of society either at market prices or below market prices. The land acquisition is often used by governments to provide infrastructure and services needed for the well being of a city.

15. Combating land speculation • Legislative and Fiscal Tools: • Land banks • - Land banks are created by buying rural lands around the city. Governments can use land banks to guide urban development, fight land speculation, redistribute land to the poor and to finance infrastructure investments.

16. Combating land speculation • Legislative and Fiscal Tools: • Capital gains tax on sale of land • - The net gain from the sale of land should be taxed as any other income. Net gain is defined as the selling price minus the buying price of land and costs incurred in developing the land.

17. Combating land speculation • Legislative and Fiscal Tools: • Taxation of vacant and excess land-holdings • - Make owning of vacant land unprofitable by increasing property taxation on vacant land. The intent is to discourage land speculation and encourage capital investment on land to utilize it to its full potential.