, Columnist
Taxing Land to Pay for Trains Will Work. In Some Places.
The politics of using "land value capture" to finance public works will vary depending on developers' power.
Rare look at a subway in progress.
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
What if we made landowners pay for infrastructure and urban improvements? After all, under a recent proposal from Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York may do just that to fund subway extensions. Property taxes would go up for New York City landowners within a certain distance from train lines, perhaps up to 1 mile. Land value capture, as it’s called, has also surfaced as a means of paying for President Donald Trump’s proposed infrastructure improvements.
Although land value capture is not quite “the solution of the moment,” as it has been described, there’s potential for it to ease some major urban problems. It’s already helping to finance new work on the Chicago subway system.