Urban Land Supply, Governance and the Pricing of Land

Abstract

This article examines the relationships between regulatory urban policy and land prices concentrating on the claimed impacts of urban growth boundaries (UGBs) using Melbourne, Australia, as a case study. Claims about these relationships have influenced the development of urban strategic policy internationally. The article finds no clear evidence that the introduction of a legislated UGB in Melbourne in 2003 has led to price increases of urban or rural land on the metropolitan fringe and evaluates factors which complicate claims about UGB policy influences on land price.