The special edition of Economic Affairs edited by Chris Webster, Professor of Urban Planning at Cardiff University, shows that under present planning regulations Britons live at a density that would astonish Americans and often live in close proximity to environmental hazards such as railway lines, motorways and industrial areas. This is because existing regulations are so weighted against development of green field sites.

The articles in the special edition examine the planning institutions that have worked in practice overseas and set out a number of alternatives to Britain’s current regime. The alternatives have all proven to be more effective than the British system which is dominated by political control. Examples of more successful systems that are examined include: the division of land into freehold and leasehold parcels that can provide incentives for the maximisation of land values through a more appropriate balance between conservation and development; the creation of ‘business improvement districts’ which have led to better private provision of shared services to commercial firms; and so-called ‘gated‘ communities which provide an example of how neighbourhoods can be organised and planned by developers and homeowners themselves without the intervention of politicians.

The articles demonstrate that Britain’s current planning system prevents beneficial development from occurring and also leads to poor environmental amenities when development does take place.

It is concluded that the existing system is not ‘fit for purpose’ but that no one alternative system is likely to be appropriate for the whole country in a ‘one size fits all’ sense. For example, different systems of neighbourhood planning may be better suited to urban, suburban and rural locations. The current, politically controlled planning system prevents these alternatives from developing.

The full contents are:

Main Articles
Editorial note: Philip Booth
Diversifying the institutions of local planning: Chris Webster
Planning by freehold: Fred Foldvary
Planning by contract: the leasehold foundation of a comprehensively planned capitalist land market: Lawrence Wai-Chung Lai
Planning by commonhold: Chris Webster and Renaud le Goix
Planning through compulsory commercial clubs: business improvement districts: Lorlene Hoyt
Planning through residential clubs: homeowners’ associations: Evan McKenzie
Planning through inclusive dialogue: no escape from social choice dilemmas: Tore Sager
Planning through exclusive dialogue: basic lessons we can learn from the private estate: Spencer Heath MacCallum
Planning through the exchange of rights under performance zoning: John R. Ottensmann
The public assignment of development rights: Chris Webster

Other Articles
Twenty-five years of promoting free markets: a history of Economic Affairs: Peter Catterall
Hayek and market socialism: science, ideology and public policy: Peter Boettke
Towards a more neutral monetary policy: proposal of a nominal income rule: Juan E. Castaneda Fernandez

Economic Viewpoints
Public service broadcasting in the digital age: David Elstein
African labour market matters: Roger Fox
Authority: a monopoly running amok in business: Terry Arthur
The Collected Works of Arthur Seldon: Colin Robinson

Columns
Lower tax, not flat tax is the answer: Tim Congdon
Free Trade, new century: Razeen Sally
Kenya’s forgotten independent school movement: James Stanfield
Climate change and insecticide in the Niger famine: Roger Bate
Would we pay for what we vote for: John Meadowcroft