Patrick Condon, the James Taylor chair in Landscape and Livable Environments at the University of British Columbia, shares insights from his book on urban land speculation and inequality. He discusses how land has evolved into a speculative asset, significantly impacting housing costs. Condon critiques conventional solutions to the housing crisis and advocates for land value taxation and inclusionary zoning as bold strategies to reclaim urban space for the common good. He also reflects on Henry George's legacy and his proposals for addressing these pressing urban issues.
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Land's Unique Economic Role
Urban land, not buildings, is the core problem in housing affordability crises. It accumulates value simply by location, unlike materials like two-by-fours. - Patrick Condon emphasizes land's unique economic role as a parasitic factor that creates no new wealth but captures rent.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Avoid Subsidies; Use Zoning Wisely
Avoid government subsidies backing private development on costly urban land as it inflates land values. - Preserve local zoning as a legal tool for promoting affordable, socially beneficial housing policies.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Use Inclusionary Zoning Effectively
Use inclusionary zoning to require affordable housing in exchange for extra density. - Cities like Cambridge and Portland effectively capture land value to create substantial affordable housing percentages.
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Patrick Condon's "Broken City" examines the global housing crisis through the lens of urban land and rent. The book argues that treating land as a mere commodity, rather than a utility, has led to runaway housing costs and inequality. Condon critiques policies that ignore the role of land speculation in driving up prices, proposing alternative strategies for cities to reclaim land for the common good. He highlights the importance of local zoning as a tool for social betterment and suggests innovative approaches to capture land value for affordable housing initiatives. The book offers a critical analysis of current housing policies and provides practical solutions for creating more equitable and sustainable urban environments.
Progress and poverty
English Land Restoration League
In 'Progress and Poverty', Henry George examines the paradox of why poverty and economic depressions occur alongside technological and economic progress. He argues that the private ownership of land, which increases in value without the owner's effort, is a primary cause of poverty and economic cycles. George proposes a single tax on land values as a remedy, suggesting it would reduce other taxes, encourage productive use of land, and distribute wealth more equitably. The book was highly influential, contributing to the Progressive Era and worldwide social reform movements[1][2][5].
The Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith
Published in 1776, 'The Wealth of Nations' is Adam Smith's magnum opus that laid the groundwork for modern economics. The book critiques mercantilist economic theories and introduces the concept of the 'invisible hand,' which describes how individual self-interest leads to societal benefit. It emphasizes the division of labor, the accumulation of capital, and the importance of free markets. Smith argues that a nation's wealth is not measured by its gold and silver reserves but by the stream of goods and services it produces. The book also outlines the core functions of government, such as maintaining defense, enforcing civil law, and promoting education, while advocating for limited government intervention in market activities.
How can urban housing, and the land underneath, now account for half of all global wealth? According to Patrick Condon, the simple answer is that land has become an asset rather than a utility. If the rich only indulged themselves with gold, jewels, and art, we wouldn’t have a global housing crisis. But once global capital markets realized land was a good speculative investment, runaway housing costs ensued. In just one city, Vancouver, land prices increased by 600 percent between 2008 and 2016. How much wealth have investors extracted from urban land? In Broken City: Land Speculation, Inequality, and Urban Crisis (U British Columbia Press, 2024), Patrick Condon explains how we have let land, our most durable resource, shift away from the common good – and proposes bold strategies that cities in North America could use to shift it back.
Patrick Condon is the James Taylor chair in Landscape and Livable Environments at the University of British Columbia’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the founding chair of the UBC Urban Design program.
New Books in Economics 
