Rachelle Alterman

Revisiting “Windfalls for Wipeouts”: Land use regulation and property values from a cross-national perspective
Rachelle Alterman
Professor Emeritus, Technion Israel Institute of Technology

The notion of “regulatory takings” is well known to Americans. The converse, the idea of “givings” - reaping the unearned increment in real estate values is less discussed, but it is there, in various costumes, in the USA as well. Ostensibly, the underlying rationale for this formula is distributive justice.

The idea of “windfalls for wipeouts” – linking the two sides of the coin - was introduced to the USA by Hagman and Misczynski back in 1978, but internationally, the notion is much older. How viable is this formula in real life? Is there symmetry? This talk presents comparative findings from 16 countries, including the USA, about the laws and practices on both sides of this notion. The findings are counterintuitive. Is the idea itself at fault, or are there many other factors that stand in the way?

The Lectures in Planning Series (LiPS) is an initiative of the Urban Planning program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information or to make program suggestions, email lipscolumbiaplanning@gmail.com.