Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model
Sprawling land development patterns have exacerbated ecological degradation, social fragmentation, and public health problems. Perverse incentives arise from the ability to privatize collectively created value in land rents and socialize ecological costs. Land value taxation (LVT) has been shown to...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1795 |
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| author | Dakota B. Walker Alican Mertan Joshua Farley Donna Rizzo Travis Reynolds |
| author_facet | Dakota B. Walker Alican Mertan Joshua Farley Donna Rizzo Travis Reynolds |
| author_sort | Dakota B. Walker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sprawling land development patterns have exacerbated ecological degradation, social fragmentation, and public health problems. Perverse incentives arise from the ability to privatize collectively created value in land rents and socialize ecological costs. Land value taxation (LVT) has been shown to encourage urban infill development by reducing or eliminating rent-seeking behavior in land markets. However, despite its purported benefits, this tax reform is value monistic in its definition of optimal land use and, therefore, does little to address the lack of non-market information to inform land use decisions. We propose an ecological-impact-weighted land value taxation policy (ELVT) which incorporates the ecological footprint of land use into one’s land value tax burden. We test both proposed policies (LVT and ELVT) relative to a “status quo” (SQ) property tax scheme, utilizing a conceptual spatially explicit agent-based model of land use behaviors and housing development. Our findings suggest that both tax interventions can increase the capital intensity and decrease the land intensity of housing development. Furthermore, both tax interventions can lead to a net profit loss for speculators and a decrease in the average housing unit price. The ELVT scheme is shown to significantly increase urban nature provisions and dampen the loss of ecological value across a region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-08d080dcfc034869bed464ed70f283a3 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj-art-08d080dcfc034869bed464ed70f283a32025-08-20T02:48:03ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2024-10-011311179510.3390/land13111795Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based ModelDakota B. Walker0Alican Mertan1Joshua Farley2Donna Rizzo3Travis Reynolds4Department of Community Development & Applied Economics, University of Vermont, 146 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405, USADepartment of Computer Science, University of Vermont, 33 Colchester Ave, Burlington, VT 05405, USADepartment of Community Development & Applied Economics, University of Vermont, 146 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405, USAGund Institute for Environment, University of Vermont, 210 Colchester Ave, Burlington, VT 05405, USADepartment of Community Development & Applied Economics, University of Vermont, 146 University Place, Burlington, VT 05405, USASprawling land development patterns have exacerbated ecological degradation, social fragmentation, and public health problems. Perverse incentives arise from the ability to privatize collectively created value in land rents and socialize ecological costs. Land value taxation (LVT) has been shown to encourage urban infill development by reducing or eliminating rent-seeking behavior in land markets. However, despite its purported benefits, this tax reform is value monistic in its definition of optimal land use and, therefore, does little to address the lack of non-market information to inform land use decisions. We propose an ecological-impact-weighted land value taxation policy (ELVT) which incorporates the ecological footprint of land use into one’s land value tax burden. We test both proposed policies (LVT and ELVT) relative to a “status quo” (SQ) property tax scheme, utilizing a conceptual spatially explicit agent-based model of land use behaviors and housing development. Our findings suggest that both tax interventions can increase the capital intensity and decrease the land intensity of housing development. Furthermore, both tax interventions can lead to a net profit loss for speculators and a decrease in the average housing unit price. The ELVT scheme is shown to significantly increase urban nature provisions and dampen the loss of ecological value across a region.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1795suburban sprawlhousingland value taxecological deficit taxagent-based modelprivate conservation |
| spellingShingle | Dakota B. Walker Alican Mertan Joshua Farley Donna Rizzo Travis Reynolds Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model Land suburban sprawl housing land value tax ecological deficit tax agent-based model private conservation |
| title | Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model |
| title_full | Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model |
| title_fullStr | Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model |
| title_full_unstemmed | Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model |
| title_short | Land Stewardship and Development Behaviors Under an Ecological-Impact-Weighted Land Value Tax Scheme: A Proof-of-Concept Agent-Based Model |
| title_sort | land stewardship and development behaviors under an ecological impact weighted land value tax scheme a proof of concept agent based model |
| topic | suburban sprawl housing land value tax ecological deficit tax agent-based model private conservation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1795 |
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