On the Land Value Capture: Politics of Land Use in the Global North and South

ABSTRACT

Land Value Capture (LVC) in the Global South has long been a subject of long-standing debate, primarily driven by the need to address uneven urbanization and finance public investments. Despite its significance, current literature focuses on case analyses limited to local implementation contingencies. This paper aims to critically examine LVC as an epistemic object and question its approach within urban studies. Our hypothesis posits that LVC has remained confined to the empirical dimension of case studies, replicated for years, demanding a higher level of theorization that could reveal the colonizing intentions encrusted in the policy learning flows from the Global North.

KEYWORDS:

• Urban management
• urban policy
• land value capture
• commodification of urban space
• Global south

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Despite the extensive body of scientific literature, it is noteworthy to mention the limited number of articles that contained at least one of the keywords listed in Figure 1 in their title, abstract, or keywords. This suggests that the topic is still being explored in a very specific manner within the literature.

2. We understand hegemony as “the ability of classes or class fractions to lead other classes by disciplining human bodies through a combination of coercion and persuasion” Glassman (2013, 255)

3. It’s worth noting that the theme of Land Value Capture (LVC) may not hold as much significance within urban popular movements as it does in academic studies. This disconnect could be attributed to various factors, including the prioritization of different issues by activist groups, the limited visibility of LVC-related concerns in mainstream public discourse, and the potential lack of awareness or understanding of LVC within these movements. Furthermore, discussions related to LVC may primarily take place within academic and policy circles, making them less accessible to grassroots movements. These discussions might involve technical language, economic concepts, and policy details that are not easily digestible for the broader public.

4. Neil Brenner and David Harvey, along with other scholars, argue that real estate interests hold significant power within the urban economy, even in developed capitalist nations. This power structure persists despite the presence of more diversified economic dynamics and reduced socio-spatial inequalities. In fact, the financialization of the economy under globalized neoliberalism is frequently associated with urban areas as hubs of production and consumption.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the We want to thank the agencies CNPq and Fundação Araucária for financially supporting this research.