Land value and public benefit

The Public Value of Urban Vacant Land: Social Responses and Ecological Value

This study reviews scholarly papers and case studies on urban vacant land to gain a stronger understanding of its public value in terms of the ecological and social benefits it can bring. This literature review offers a conceptual overview of the potential benefits of vacant land with the goal of addressing gaps in knowledge about vacant land and to provide suggestions to planners and designers...

Private Opportunity, Public Benefit?

The newly elected Labour government has pledged to ‘reinvigorate the Private Finance Initiative’, as part of the new emphasis on ‘public/private partnerships’ in the delivery of core public services. This article assesses the merits of using private finance to deliver public services against three criteria: whether it will lead to additional investment in social infrastructure, whether it repre...

Governance of public corporations : Profits and the public benefit

Until recently, changes in the governance of publicly-owned enterprises could be seen as a move along a spectrum which led inevitably to privatisation. The general rejection of privatisation as a policy, and increasing demands for systems of corporate governance that take account of social interests broader than those encompassed in the maximisation of shareholder value subject to legal and reg...

The Value and Price of Land

Benefit-cost analysis in public health.

This chapter gives an overview of benefit-cost analysis (BCA) and similar evaluation tools, such as cost-effectiveness analysis and technology-based standards, in the context of public health. We describe these evaluation tools, how they are used, their shortcomings, and how they should be interpreted. As with other powerful tools, they are subject to misuse and misinterpretation, even by profe...