Center for Land Economics
2025 J.M.K. Innovation Prize Awardee
Land is a
Big Deal
Building fairer, more prosperous communities through centering land in economic policy.
The Center for Land Economics conducts research and provides education to promote equitable assessments and foster sustainable development for the benefit of communities.
Our Work
Ideas to Action
Progress and Poverty Substack
The pulse of land value taxes: Weekly updates, thought-provoking commentary, and much more on Progress and Poverty.
Read Now
Ideas to Action
Mass Appraisal for the Masses
Modern, cutting-edge, free and open source mass appraisal toolkit for researchers, analysts, governments, and everybody else.
Learn more
Ideas to Action
Land Value Tax Research
In-depth LVT modeling, data-driven insights, and comprehensive reports illuminating the story of cities through land value.
Syracuse Study
Ideas to Action
CivicMapper
Interactive 3D mapping for visualizing land values and urban potential.
Visit CivicMapperProgress and Poverty
Latest Writing
Recent posts from our Substack — writing on land value taxes, housing, and political economy.
May 27, 2026
Contra Watling on "The failure of the land value tax"
There are many successful historical examples of land valuation and land value taxation, which critics don't engage with.
Read on Substack ↗
May 19, 2026
Property Taxes are Not Land Value Taxes
Contra Kevin Erdmann: building taxes are bad, actually.
Read on Substack ↗
May 6, 2026
Don’t Reject Data Centers. Negotiate Harder.
They can be profitable for cities.
Read on Substack ↗
April 28, 2026
How Appraisers Value Land
An interview with Thomas Holding, a veteran assessor who has worked on all sides of the industry
Read on Substack ↗
In the Media
Recent coverage of the Center for Land Economics and our work.
UCLA Housing Voice ↗
Land Value Tax Would Fix This with Lars Doucet
UCLA Housing Voice hosts Lars Doucet for a primer on land value taxes, why they are incentive-aligned housing policy, and how land value return can move from theory into practice.
Die Zeit ↗
»When Houses Become Cheaper Again, That's Not a Happy Ending«
Lars Doucet of the Center for Land Economics is interviewed in Die Zeit, one of Germany's most prominent weekly newspapers, on why the housing market is fundamentally broken, how the property ladder has calcified into a form of neo-feudalism, and why a land value tax is the reform that targets speculation without punishing construction.
LPM ↗
One idea for increasing development in downtown Louisville: More taxes on parking lots
LPM speaks with Greg Miller of the Center for Land Economics about Louisville's split-rate property tax proposal, which would shift taxes off buildings and onto parking lots and other underused land to spur downtown development.
The Edge ↗
What if we taxed land more, buildings less?
The Edge speaks with Greg Miller of the Center for Land Economics about Kentucky's HB 607 and how taxing land more than buildings could support housing, curb speculation, and preserve green space.
San Francisco Chronicle ↗
We're trying to fix California's tax system. This bill can get us started.
Lars Doucet and Greg Miller of the Center for Land Economics write in the San Francisco Chronicle arguing for unwinding Proposition 13 while remaining revenue neutral in response to Tom Steyer's recent proposals.
Baltimore Banner ↗
Baltimore's vacants are chronically undervalued — but things are improving
The Baltimore Banner covers the Center for Land Economics' report finding that Baltimore's vacant properties are assessed at a fraction of their market value, enabling speculation while shortchanging city revenue.
Central Current ↗
A State Bill Could Reshape Property Taxes in Syracuse — and Spur Development
City officials are exploring a land value tax shift informed by analysis from the Center for Land Economics showing tax relief for residents and stronger incentives to develop vacant and underused parcels.
Spokesman Review ↗
Spokane leaders eye property tax reform to promote building
Spokane leaders are advancing a land-value tax pilot proposal informed by analysis from the Center for Land Economics, which would shift property taxes off new buildings and onto vacant lots and parking lots to curb speculation and accelerate housing development.
New America ↗
Tax Land, Not Buildings, to Spur Development
Greg Miller writes in The Rooftop series for New America on the need to center property tax reform in discussions on housing supply. Cities should start by taxing land, not buildings.
Realtor ↗
The Squares That Guarantee a Real Estate Win
Lars Doucet of the Center for Land Economics explains how Monopoly's Georgist origins mirror today's housing affordability crisis—and why land value taxes are gaining real-world momentum as a path toward housing abundance.
Realtor ↗
Could the Land Value Tax Solve the Housing Shortage?
Greg Miller of CLE makes the case that shifting property taxes from buildings onto land through a land value tax could unlock faster housing production.
News10 ↗
NY land value tax proposed to make housing affordable
New York legislators are proposing a land value tax pilot program, an idea backed by experts from the Center for Land Economics.
StrongTowns ↗
Connecting Value Creation with Value Capture
Greg Miller presents at the Strong Towns National Gathering on the need to consider land value taxes to unlock the market toward infill development.
Baltimore Banner ↗
State chronically undervalues vacant land in Baltimore
The Baltimore Banner speaks with the Center for Land Economics covering CLE's report uncovering systematic undervaluation of vacant land in Baltimore.
Complex Systems ↗
Tax the dirt, with Lars Doucet & Greg Miller
Patrick McKenzie (patio11) is joined by Lars Doucet and Greg Miller to discuss shifting taxes from buildings to land, assessment trade-offs, and practical paths to better local property tax policy.
The Economist's Favorite Tax
Land is a limited resource and a vital input to economic activity. Markets should award productivity from the use of land, not from land ownership itself. That's why a land value tax, which discourages speculation and promotes fair use, is known as the “economist's favorite tax.”