Distributional Justice and Land Markets

Abstract

This chapter examines the relationships between distributional issues and planning, building on the concept of equity introduced in Chapter 3. There equity was considered to be concerned with notions of fairness in the distribution of resources and rewards in society, and planning might be seen as sometimes reacting to an inequitable or unfair distribution of such resources. If it is viewed in this way, promoting a more equitable or fairer distribution of resources sits alongside promoting a more efficient distribution of resources as an aim for a planning system. The implementation of planning does, however, change land uses and redistribute wealth and income, and if these redistributions are deemed to be unfair, planning may be seen as a cause of, as well as a response to, inequities. The relationship between planning and land values will be explored with the aid of a theory of land-value determination, and the arguments about the increased values that follow from planning permission being the object of some sort of taxation will be examined.