Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas

Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2017.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Featherston, Witt McCall
Other Authors: Dennis Frenchman.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108896
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author Featherston, Witt McCall
author2 Dennis Frenchman.
author_facet Dennis Frenchman.
Featherston, Witt McCall
author_sort Featherston, Witt McCall
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description Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2017.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1088962019-04-12T16:27:56Z Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas Featherston, Witt McCall Dennis Frenchman. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development. Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development. Thesis: S.M. in Real Estate Development, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2017. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-54). Through most of history cities have grown slowly, organically following the contours formed by the intersection of geography and commerce - with occasional guidance from master planners - to create resilient and equitable forms. But the industrial age begat zoning, new forms of taxation, and hastened infrastructure investments, all of which upended centuries of measured and incremental growth. Codified separation of distinct land uses required new methods of real estate taxation and enabled new forms of value creation. Time and cost savings in infrastructure construction facilitated exponential growth in the speed at which a city's form could change. Amidst the quickening morphosis, the city's ability to diligently and thoughtfully create urban forms that maximize equity for all stakeholders has been diminished; bureaucratic barriers to housing production increased costs, and necessitated subsidization in order to create affordable housing. In order to reenergize the city's ability to create an equitable city, we must reexamine our use of land-use regulations, tax policies, and formulate clear ways forward. This thesis first seeks a broad and versatile definition of an equitable city in order to understand the desired end-state of potential interventions. Second, the author explores the formal characteristics of the equitable city, the way current land-use regulations are either facilitating or impeding the creation of that form, and the potential for a better way forward. Third, the author taxonomizes the fiscal tools available to the city which influence the urban form. Lastly, the author looks at the Highland neighborhood of Austin, TX - a marginal neighborhood with recently completed light-rail stops, a regional mall being redeveloped into a mixed-use project anchored by a community college, and building typologies which do not comply with current zoning - and proposes palatable changes to the way real estate is taxed, which will facilitate the creation of a more just, equitable, and sustainable neighborhood. by Witt McCall Featherston. S.M. in Real Estate Development 2017-05-11T19:54:25Z 2017-05-11T19:54:25Z 2017 2017 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108896 986240803 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 54 pages application/pdf n-us-tx Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development.
Featherston, Witt McCall
Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas
title Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas
title_full Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas
title_fullStr Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas
title_full_unstemmed Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas
title_short Land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in Austin, Texas
title_sort land value taxation as a mechanism to relieve housing supply constraints in austin texas
topic Center for Real Estate. Program in Real Estate Development.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/108896
work_keys_str_mv AT featherstonwittmccall landvaluetaxationasamechanismtorelievehousingsupplyconstraintsinaustintexas