Land use is a key policy area that can further economic, environmental and social goals.
Land use has consequences for public health as it influences air quality and pollution.
Land and buildings account for the most important share of wealth in the OECD (86% of the total capital stock).
POLICIES INFLUENCE LAND USE
Land use planning and regulation restricts how land can be used.
Tax policies can provide incentives to guide land use by encouraging compact development and prevent urban sprawl.
National governments should decide on incentives when designing their fiscal and land use planning systems.
Misguided incentives can cause local governments to pursue planning policies that raise housing costs and suburban sprawl.
MORE FLEXIBLE APPROACHES TO PLANNING ARE NEEDED
More flexible planning laws can help transform land areas towards more efficient and innovative uses.
Restrictive land use regulations can be a major cause property bubbles.
Land use regulations should ensure that housing construction can keep pace with population growth.
land use regulations should encourage increased density, especially in low-density areas close city centres as well as along public transport corridors.
Urban growth boundaries should be adjusted in response to growing populations.
If housing is built on greenfield sites, it should be compact and transport oriented.
MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE
Housing, transportation, energy, water, agriculture, tourism, and economic development—all of these sectors have demands on land and affect how it is used.
This presents a complex governance challenge between sectors, but also across levels of government since many sectoral issues are divided between national, regional and local governments.
In order to develop effective policies to improve the governance of land use, the OECD has embarked on a research project involving large-scale data collection along with in-depth case studies.
This report provides an overview of spatial and land-use planning systems across the OECD through country fact sheets that focus on formal aspects of planning systems, as they are defined by laws and regulations. View
The case studies of Clermont-Ferrand and Nantes Saint-Nazaire highlight the trends and challenges faced in each region and the unique approaches that have been adopted to manage land-use issues across a large number of communes. View
This study examines the social, economic and environmental conditions affecting the area of Amsterdam’s spatial development as well as the plans, policies and institutions that govern how land is used there. View
This report examines spatial planning and policies in Israel. It describes the laws, policies and practices in the country as a whole, and provides a detailed assessment of arrangements and practices in two cities: Netanya and Umm al-Fahm. View
This report examines land use and governance trends in Prague and the broader metropolitan area, including the formal elements of the planning system and broader governance arrangements such as rural-urban partnerships.. View