Jean-David Gerber – författare

In dealing with scarce land, planners often need to interact with, and sometimes confront, property right-holders to address complex property rights situations. To reinforce their position in situations of rivalrous land uses, planners can strategically use and combine different policy instruments in addition to standard land use plans. Effectively steering spatial development requires a keen understanding of these instruments of land policy. This book not only presents how such instruments function, it additionally examines how public authorities strategically manage the scarcity of land, either increasing or decreasing it, to promote a more sparing use of resources. It presents 13 instruments of land policy in specific national contexts and discusses them from the perspectives of other countries. Through the use of concrete examples, the book reveals how instruments of land policy are used strategically in different policy contexts.

This book explores the relationship between densification and social sustainability, aiming to understand the complexities and contradictions inherent to contemporary urban development. Densification can exacerbate social tensions, as it contributes to creating denser, but gentrified neighbourhoods. Moreover, densification is increasingly associated with greenwashing, with many projects marketed as densification projects only marginally increasing population density. What goes wrong?“Governing Densification” addresses this paradox by pursuing four interrelated objectives. First, it analyses densification as a political process through which stakeholders compete over a variety of goals. Second, it examines the mechanisms leading to the shortcomings of densification – insisting on the tricky role played by more managerial and project-based approaches in planning. Third, the book revisits the crucial planning concept of power dynamics in urban development, offering new insights into how power is distributed and exercised in project-based negotiations. Finally, it provides illustrative examples from which lessons are drawn on how spatial planning can lead to negotiated density increases while maintaining urban quality for residents, including vulnerable socio-economic groups.The book is aimed at academics interested in spatial and urban planning, as well as those in other subject areas, including geo-information, urban studies, and administrative and public policy sciences.

In dealing with scarce land, planners often need to interact with, and sometimes confront, property right-holders to address complex property rights situations. To reinforce their position in situations of rivalrous land uses, planners can strategically use and combine different policy instruments in addition to standard land use plans. Effectively steering spatial development requires a keen understanding of these instruments of land policy. This book not only presents how such instruments function, it additionally examines how public authorities strategically manage the scarcity of land, either increasing or decreasing it, to promote a more sparing use of resources. It presents 13 instruments of land policy in specific national contexts and discusses them from the perspectives of other countries. Through the use of concrete examples, the book reveals how instruments of land policy are used strategically in different policy contexts.