The evolution of land values in the context of rapid urban growth : a case study of Bogota and Cali

Abstract

The influence of rapid urban growth upon land values in two Colombian cities is examined. Land values have responded to the rapid growth of these cities much as they might be expected to in a market economy. Growth in land values has been greatest in the periphery of these cities and least at the center. Furthermore, land values in poor areas have increased as fast as land values in rich areas. These results are somewhat surprising in the presence of a widespread impression in Colombia, as in other developing countries, that land prices in cities have been growing at undesirably high and unwarranted rates. Furthermore, urban land is probably one of the few assets to which the poor have relatively better access. Thus, if access to shelter for the poor is an important policy concern, policy measures should address such access directly. Rather than hindering rising land prices, policy should be directed at providing subsidized or free access to land in the form of a squatters rights policy.

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