ER17 Land value capture to fund transport investments in cities (August 2016)

Cities need new solutions if they are to carry on growing whilst also improving their liveability. A large part of this is the provision of transportation capacity within a city. Without spare capacity, growth cannot occur.

In current economic and political times, funding expensive transport projects can be difficult, and cities are increasingly looking for more ways in which they can fund the much-needed infrastructure for growth. Land value capture is a method that has been studied and discussed a lot in recent years, but there remain few examples of implementation. Core to value capture is the premise that transport is one of the most powerful catalysts of urban land value increase, and when new infrastructure is built, land prices can rise rapidly; even before projects are completed

This short report covers international exemplars carefully selected from around the world to demonstrate how value capture has been applied to various different projects. It gives a brief overview of what value capture is as well as lessons learned and the advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. The report concludes with some salient points to consider for New Zealand.