Value Capture: A Land Based Tool to Finance Urban Development

In Toronto, land value capture has become a hot topic recently because of its prominence as a proposed method to fund the SmartTrack transit plan. But Toronto is not alone. Cities around the world have become increasingly interested in the tools and techniques of land value capture as a means to pay for infrastructure.

Generally understood as a way of allowing the public to benefit from rising land values that result from government investments in infrastructure, or from administrative or regulatory changes in land uses, land value capture can take many different forms. At this event, Martim Smolka spoke about the theory and practice of land value capture as it has been implemented in Latin America, and David Amborski discussed its use in Canada.