Corruption in planning, institutional design, and legal norms: a global challenge to planning law
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Date
2016
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AESOP
Abstract
Planning legislation is today on the books of most countries of the world. All advanced economies certainly have planning laws. Recently there is a new momentum across the globe whereby many developing and transition countries too, either adopt planning laws for the first time, or replace antiquated dysfunctional laws. But what about corruption and planning law? What do we know about this unspoken “guerrilla in the room” which decision makers, consultants, and scholars, all wish to ignore?
Any planning-law system inevitably enables considerable discretion about the use and development of land. Planning laws enable the authorities to make plans – and these entail a considerable amount of judgment. Needless to say, the designation in plans of some parcels of land for lucrative development and other parcels for historic preservation, public services, or open space – all affect the value of land. Planning instruments used to implement plans also entail considerable leeway for decisions, such as the number and timing of building permits to be granted and those postponed or denied, variations allowed from the plan’s rules, and designation of some parcels fo land for expropriation. These and many more types of decisions steer great amounts of wealth, and can direct it to certain areas in cities or regions, and ultimately, to specific individuals who have much to gain, or lose. Land is not just another type of commodity. Land is the custodian of a major part of global wealth.
There is no index specifically focused on planning or land-related corruption, but all planning systems are susceptible to corruption to some extent. Even in countries with a very good score on the international “corruption perception index”, decision makers are not immune to land-related temptations.
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Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the south
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