Land Lines Julio 2006
Teardowns
The practice of demolishing and replacing houses, especially in high-priced areas, generates passionate controversy. The trick for local governments is to keep the costs of teardown activity from overwhelming the less obvious benefits.
Smart Growth in Maryland
Maryland’s smart growth programs are interesting and highly regarded for a number of reasons, but a new initiative, Reality Check Plus: Imagine Maryland, is helping to push the land use planning and reform process even further.
Property Taxation and Informality
When focusing on property tax performance, the major cause of concern is not so much informality itself, but the way public officials treat informality and how they administer a property tax system.
This issue explores Maryland’s smart growth programs and a new land use reform initiative that the state is trying out; the costs, benefits, and policy framework of housing demolition and replacement projects; and the effects of informal land markets on property taxation in Latin America.