6 ms·

They forced density in Vancouver, Canada by billing property taxes on possible uses of land instead of actual uses. So if city council decided your land could a

They forced density in Vancouver, Canada by billing property taxes on possible uses of land instead of actual uses. So if city council decided your land could actually be a 10 story condo, they would hand you a gigantic tax bill based on that condo tower rate in hopes you'd sell to developers. It turned the city into a judge dredd style dystopia of luxury condo towers but they achieved density.

Wowfunhappy 7y ago
> It turned the city into a judge dredd style dystopia of luxury condo towers Is it really that bad?
- hackermailman 7y ago
  Not entirely, but because of local political corruption a lot of development ended up like this but it doesn't have to be this way. US cities I imagine are far more strict seperating development from politicians than the grey areas here that permitted foreign money laundering.
akvadrako 7y ago
Sounds like a land value tax, which libertarians have been suggesting for decades.
- thepangolino 7y ago
  It's actually a tax on potential land value.
  - Ericson2314 7y ago
    Potential building value, but real land value. "This might be near something someday" != "This is already near the city center".
shduyuisdfiu 7y ago
I'm guessing they didn't do this, but I think it would be fair if the city also forced developers to pay the owner what the land (potentially) could be worth.
closeparen 7y ago
If you find tall buildings dystopian, approximately all of human civilization and, for the matter, the entire surface of the earth will fit your preferences. If on the other hand the isolation and car dependence of suburbia is dystopian to you, your only options are a few blocks in each of a few cities, all of them astronomically expensive because so many people share that preference. Bravo to Vancouver. Cities should be cities.
esoterica 7y ago
Why are condos more dystopian than McMansions? Is your idea of utopia less housing and higher rents?

Wowfunhappy 7y ago

> It turned the city into a judge dredd style dystopia of luxury condo towers Is it really that bad?

hackermailman 7y ago
Not entirely, but because of local political corruption a lot of development ended up like this but it doesn't have to be this way. US cities I imagine are far more strict seperating development from politicians than the grey areas here that permitted foreign money laundering.

akvadrako 7y ago

Sounds like a land value tax, which libertarians have been suggesting for decades.

thepangolino 7y ago
It's actually a tax on potential land value.
- Ericson2314 7y ago
  Potential building value, but real land value. "This might be near something someday" != "This is already near the city center".

shduyuisdfiu 7y ago

I'm guessing they didn't do this, but I think it would be fair if the city also forced developers to pay the owner what the land (potentially) could be worth.

closeparen 7y ago

If you find tall buildings dystopian, approximately all of human civilization and, for the matter, the entire surface of the earth will fit your preferences. If on the other hand the isolation and car dependence of suburbia is dystopian to you, your only options are a few blocks in each of a few cities, all of them astronomically expensive because so many people share that preference. Bravo to Vancouver. Cities should be cities.

esoterica 7y ago

Why are condos more dystopian than McMansions? Is your idea of utopia less housing and higher rents?