a framework for reforming urban land policies in ... - UN-HABITAT

IV. MAKING THE NECESSARY REFORMS: SOME GUIDELINES
4.1 This section outlines a general framework for undertaking urban land policy reforms.
Most of the recommendations outlined below imply major political decisions and commitments
on the part of governments, especially clear support for deregulation and privatization. The
scope and depth of reform can vary. For example, at a modest level land-use regulatory reforms
can be initiated and targeted on master plans, subdivision controls or permitting systems. A
more ambitious reform program would be to restructure public land development agencies,
breaking large authorities into small operations, and privatizing or liquidating some land
development operations.
4.2 Depending on the focus and extent of reforms, either major or minor modifications to
enabling legislation and statutes will be required. In some instances reforms may also require
fundamental changes in systems of property rights as well. Obviously, before strategies for
major urban land policy reform can be developed, political and technical assessments are
required. In this section, our intent is to introduce important concepts for structuring reforms; we
do not attempt to provide a precise blueprint for reform.
A. The First Step to Reform: The Land Market Assessment
4.3 As the previous section of this paper described, the essential problem with most nations’
urban land-use policies is too much government regulation and not enough government support
of private-sector institutions. The first and obvious step is for governments to conduct an audit
of their urban land policies. As described in another Urban Management Program paper, a tool
known as the Land Market Assessment has been developed for this purpose (Dowall, 1991a).
The aim of the land market assessment is to provide an accurate and up-to-date data base
on the operation of the urban land market. Information about the operation of the land market in
terms of prices, supply of serviced land, and present and intended projects provides a concrete
foundation for defining appropriate strategies for improving land market performance. LMAs
can be used to support four broad activities: providing information for governmental planning
and decision-making; evaluating government policies and actions; serving as a foundation for
structuring land-based taxation systems; and providing information for private-sector investment
and development decisions.
4.4 The most significant benefit of the LMA is that it helps to improve the quality of land
development planning and policy-making by providing public officials with basic assessments of
the state of the land market. In planning, as in medicine, diagnosis is the first step in problemsolving.
The LMA is a method for assessing the current condition of the land market that can
answer the following questions:
a. Is the supply of urban-serviced land expanding to meet growing population and
employment needs?
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