You may have heard that our town planning system of rules and institutions that govern land uses in cities and often across the country is stifling new housing production, causing high prices.
But much of the commentary misunderstands how town planning rules operate.
I chat with Sydney town planner Tim Sneesby about how the system works, from a strategic level of creating zones and desired outcomes at a broad level, including earmarking infrastructure locations, to the day-to-day operations of assessing applications against those broader plans.
I also push a little on some of the potential perverse incentives—wouldn’t town planners prefer to create cumbersome rules to keep themselves in a job and make their roles valuable even if there is no (or negative!) social benefit from those rules?
For example, this article notes a rise in town planners per new home developed and the economic cost of regulating so many aspects of building designs.
Let me know what you think?
All comments are personal views and not those of Tim’s employer or associated entities.
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