Regulation Markets and Choice in Land Use
Regulation, Markets, and Choice in Metropolitan Land Use
March 1, 2006
RFF First Wednesday Seminar
Smart growth, sprawl, and zoning are contentious, headline-making concerns in Washington, DC, and many other metropolitan areas. Is single-family residential zoning the outcome of, or a constraint on, a free market? Is sprawl undesirable? What role have development rights and other market-like approaches played in balancing land use and preservation - and are they panaceas for the future? Should land use be an exclusively local management issue? Our panelists will address the impacts of land use decisions, describe current research and policy recommendations, and offer perspectives on the future of land planning.
Video of this First Wednesday Seminar follows below.
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Phil Sharp |
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Virginia McConnell Virginia McConnell, an RFF senior fellow, works on environmental issues related to air pollution and urban transportation. Her recent focus has been on the link between urban growth and the environment; specifically, she is evaluating policies to reduce vehicle pollution, programs to scrap old cars, inspection and maintenance programs, and emission taxes. She also studies the role of economic incentives to achieve more efficient urban growth. Also a professor of economics at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, McConnell recently served on the National Academy of Sciences' Committee to Review the Effectiveness of Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance Programs, and has been a member of several U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees, including the Mobile Source Technical Review, a subcommittee of the Clean Air Act advisory committee. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland. | |
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Parris Glendening Parris Glendening is president of Smart Growth Leadership Institute, a nationwide coalition of nearly 100 organizations promoting a better way to grow by protecting open space and farmland, revitalizing neighborhoods, keeping housing affordable, and making communities more livable. Glendening travels the country advising about the dangers of urban sprawl and its effect on our communities as well as recommending a range of solutions. Previously, Glendening spent eight years as governor of Maryland, where he made the environment, and especially smart growth, the heart of his legislative, administrative, and personal agenda. For his work on preserving open space and ending sprawl, Glendening has received commendations such as the Olmstead Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Florida State University. | |
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Gerrit Knaap Gerrit Knaap is executive director of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education and an economist and professor of urban studies and planning at the University of Maryland-College Park. His research interests include the economics and politics of land use planning, the efficacy of economic development instruments, and impacts of environmental policy. He is the author of more than 40 articles and is co-author, editor, or co-editor of five books: Land Market Monitoring for Smart Urban Growth; Environmental Program Evaluation; Spatial Development in Indonesia; The Regulated Landscape: Lessons on State Land Use Planning from Oregon; and Partnerships for Smart Growth: University-Community Collaboration for Better Public Places. He earned a B.S. from Willamette University, his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and did post-doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, all in economics. | |
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Jonathan Levine Jonathan Levine is associate professor and chair of the Urban and Regional Planning Program at the University of Michigan. He is the author of Zoned Out: Regulation, Markets, and Choices in Transportation and Metropolitan Land Use, recently published by RFF Press. His teaching and research are in the areas of transportation and land use, public economics in planning, and interaction of markets and regulation in urban development. He holds an M.S. in transportation engineering and an M.C.P. and Ph.D. in city and regional planning, all from the University of California-Berkeley. | |
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Margaret Walls Margaret Walls is a resident scholar at RFF. She conducts research and policy analysis on issues related to land use, transportation, air pollution, and waste and recycling. In the land use area, she has published articles that analyze the efficacy of transferable development rights (TDR) programs and examine the impact of zoning on suburban land use outcomes. She has also modeled household vehicle ownership and use and has addressed the cost-effectiveness of various instruments for reducing pollution from motor vehicles. Currently, Walls is documenting the design, implementation, and outcomes from several TDR programs in the United States. Her work has been published in the Journal of Public Economics, National Tax Journal, and Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, among others. She is also the author of 10 book chapters. She has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California-Santa Barbara. | |
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Panel Question & Answer
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