PLAN 375Municipal Finance and Land Economics

This course examines the intersecting elements of municipal finance and land economics in the context of planning. Students will develop an understanding of how municipalities generate and receive revenue, in both Canadian and global contexts. Key issues in municipal finance and budgeting will be discussed such as generating revenues through property taxes, development charges, user fees, and transfers from other orders of government. Students will learn key principles of land economics including land value capture and uplift, real estate market functions, and externalities. Students will explore the distributional impacts of different municipal revenue/spending decisions and the influence of broader changes in the economy.