Land leasing and urban planning: lessons from Hong Kong

Abstract

As shown in the experience of Hong Kong, if used properly, land leasing can generate a substantial amount of revenue for the city and can achieve planning gains which cannot be easily achieved under a freehold system. However, to use it effectively, conflict between urban planning and land leasing should be avoided. Otherwise, as in Hong Kong, benefit will accrue from the high land prices that can be obtained in the short run, but, sooner or later, the problem of massive compensation or major difficulties in development control will have to be faced in the future. There is a comment on this article by R. W. Archer and Chung-Tong Wu on pp 22-28. -from Author