Issues in municipal public land banking

The alleged benefits of municipal public land banking are discussed in the context of the following issues: 1) lower housing costs through lower land prices; 2) the elimination of private speculation in land on the urban fringe; and 3) more effective planning of future urban expansion. The arguments presented are illustrated with examples from the Canadian experience. It is concluded that the present case for municipal public land banks as an alternative to existing planning controls is not a convincing one.The author thanks Professors H. Cherniack, H. Hightower, and D. Baxter for comments upon a draft of the paper.