In Switzerland, the fight against uncontrolled urban sprawl and the protection of agricultural land have a long tradition. To reconcile these concerns, the Swiss voting majority agreed to introduce...

Most spatial planning systems are growth-oriented and focus on upzoning. However, downzoning is becoming increasingly important, as European planning is taking a “resourcial turn” and needs to integrate net land neutrality. Yet downzoning may entail financial compensation for landowners losing their development rights. Understanding the legal and financial mechanisms of compensation schemes is therefore essential for planners. This comparative study investigates the rationale, conditions, and calculations of five European compensation schemes. Our research shows how compensation schemes differ significantly within the European context and concludes that a feasible and affordable compensation scheme is essential for adaptable planning.

This chapter describes the basic mechanisms through which scarcity is impacted using four criteria derived from policy analysis: effectiveness, efficiency, legitimacy, and practicability. International comparison shows that many problems faced by planners in connection with land scarcity are similar, but the responses are often different. In 1960, Germany introduced a system of public reference land values to prevent speculation on the land market. Winrich Voß and Jorn Bannert illustrate empirically how it works in relation to land policy. Expropriation is one of the standard instruments of land policy. Expropriation can be applied for housing or even shopping centres. Land can only be expropriated for infrastructure projects such as pipelines. Land use plans are the most standard instrument of land use planning. For the Dutch context, this form of land use plans provides an efficient, effective, and accepted form of cost recovery for the municipalities.