The purpose of this chapter is to survey recent research on housing markets and policy in what used to be called the “second” and “third” worlds. We adopt the labels “transition” economies to refer to countries as disparate as Russia and Vietnam, and “developing” to refer to...

House prices have increased significantly in Canada over the past decade, driving household debt and residential construction activity to historical highs. Although macro-prudential tightening has slowed the pace of household borrowing in the last few years, house prices have continued to trend...

This article argues that New York municipalities should integrate land banks into the tax enforcement process to break the unhealthy cycle perpetuated by real estate and lien speculators. By transferring all tax liens and foreclosed properties to local land banks, municipalities can generate an...

Urban displacement - when a household is forced to relocate due to conditions affecting its home or surroundings - often results from rising housing costs, particularly in wealthy, prosperous cities. However, its dynamics are complex and often difficult to understand. This paper presents an...

This paper analyzes the timing and density of urban development using a new intertemporal model featuring stochastic housing demand, a finite price elasticity of demand, cross-sectional variation in the amenity value of land, and property taxes. Equilibrium rent and house prices in a city are...

The research aims at spatial and socio-economic analysis of landscape patterns in Baltic coastal area of Estonia. The process of active suburbanization, which is analysed in the current work, is caused by complex socio-economical factors which arise from sociopolitical changes since the end of...

Over the last decade and a half, the Smart Growth movement has matured in Canada. Early efforts to raise awareness on the need to better manage urban growth gave way to smart growth plans and policies adopted by municipal, regional and provincial governments. More recently, attention has shifted...

In the midst of urban policy institutions taking greater advantage of technological advances for generating data, this paper analyzes the current state of using satellite imagery to monitor informal settlement patterns. Using the issue of informal settlements in rapid urbanization, this paper...

In many of the biggest and richest cities in America, there is a housing affordability crisis. Housing prices in these cities have appreciated well beyond the cost of construction and even faster than rising incomes. These price increases are a direct result of zoning rules that limit the...