rural-urban dynamics_report.pdf - Khazar University

138 URBANIZATION AND THE MDGS GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT 2013
stringent barriers to urban expansion. As
an alternative, a flexible definition of public
purpose can be combined with a strong judicial
system to guide and evaluate acquisition
decisions on a case-by-case basis. If a flexible
definition is used, it becomes increasingly
important to provide a clear definition of the
process to adjudicate conflicts in cases where
the “public purpose” of a particular acquisition
is questioned, as well as to establish the
institutions that guarantee that affected parties
can voice their concerns.
Coordinate land management with
infrastructure, housing, and transport
Manage densities
Just as valuing land and assigning property
rights are challenges for accommodating
urban expansion, so are managing densities
within cities and finding ways to finance
urban expansion and city renewal. One
widely used tool for managing densities is the
floor space index (FSI), or floor area ratio.
This is the ratio of the gross floor area of a
building on a lot divided by the area of that
lot. If, for example, the FSI in an area of a
city is 1:1, developers can only put up a building
with a gross floor area less than or equal
to the total lot area. While in some cases it
may be possible to build a one-story building
that covers the lot entirely, thus achieving
an FSI of 1:1, developers typically construct
buildings with a “footprint” or “plinth”
that covers less than the whole lot, and so
the structure has more than one story. For
example, a developer could build a four-story
building that covered 25 percent of the lot
and still meet the FSI of 1:1.
Other planning regulations include setbacks
(minimum distances to the front, rear,
and sides of a plot) and maximum building
heights. Both are designed to protect adjacent
properties and preserve access to sun, air,
and open space (parks and plazas). Finally,
plot coverage ratio regulations limit the total
area of a plot that can be developed (World
Bank 2013a). There is no such thing as an
optimal FSI. The “right” FSI for a specific
area depends on the existing spatial structure
of the city, the street patterns and widths, the
level of infrastructure (is there enough capacity
to accommodate higher density, that is,
higher FSIs?), and cultural and social factors
(are skyscrapers acceptable?) (Bertaud 2004).
Although these regulations exist for good
reasons, they often have unintended consequences.
If an area’s FSI is set far below
the level at which investors might otherwise
develop it, this repression of supply can push
people into other areas, and the increased
demand for those other areas can raise prices
across the city (Annez and Linn 2010). Similarly,
if the FSI is a uniform limit, it may
increase housing prices by limiting the supply
of land that would otherwise be built
up. It may also encourage the allocation of
land and buildings to less productive uses.
Beyond slowing city growth in these ways, a
uniform limit can also push poor households
to distant suburbs, adding to their poverty by
increasing their commuting costs and times.
When households have no choice but to
locate near jobs, they often join hazard-prone
informal settlements.
Consider South Africa, where the government
has focused on provision of subsidized
housing, first introduced as part of
the Reconstruction and Development Program.
The benefits of the program have been
questioned, however. The most common
complaint is that households receiving the
subsidized housing are not satisfied, because
the housing is often far from employment
centers; the new houses were often built in
the “old” apartheid locations (which were
deliberately sited far from urban centers and
white neighborhoods). In addition, most
households do not receive title deeds immediately
but are allocated the housing administratively;
whether they receive title right
away or not, households are barred from
selling or renting for a period of five years.
Furthermore, even after the five-year period,
the government has a preemptive right (the
right of first refusal) on the sale of the property.
In short, poor location and lack of fully
tradable property rights are often cited as
reasons for the limited impact of the subsidized
housing.