Planning-related land value changes for explaining instruments of compensation and value capture in Switzerland

Abstract

As a public policy, planning seeks to achieve politically defined policy objectives such as sustainable spatial development. To effectively attain these objectives, it is essential to consider the impact of planning decisions on land values. A comprehensive understanding of the connection between planning and land values is imperative for making well-informed choices regarding the management of land use and spatial development sustainably and responsibly. While instruments of planning law are intensively debated within the planning community, their implicit effects on land values are rarely considered. This study contributes to the field by demonstrating the crucial connection between planning-induced land value changes and value capture instruments in Switzerland. Our analysis shows significant value changes in the planning process. It connects these to redistributive instruments of the Swiss planning regime, which come into play to compensate for disproportionate planning-induced advantages or disadvantages of landowners. Due to the exceptionally significant change in value while zoning, which is present in Switzerland, there are remarkable redistributive instruments - both in terms of value increase (added value capture) and value decrease (compensation). Our study shows that knowledge of planning-related land value changes can help understand redistributive mechanisms, thereby contributing to best-practice debates.