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The purpose of this paper is to understand how the nature of infrastructure as a public good has traditionally lent itself to state provision and to review how land-based financing (LBF) can be used to overcome the public infrastructure funding constraints in South Africa.

The paper is largely based on a review and analysis of the academic literature, government reports and reports from research institutions such as the World Bank, Department for International Development, Urban Land Institute and the Lincoln Institute.

The paper finds that although a number of LBF instruments are being used in South Africa, the majority of them are not suited to addressing the current infrastructure funding constraint. However, the paper finds that some LBF mechanisms, such as tax-increment financing (TIF), that are currently not used could play a role provided that certain preconditions are met.

LBF has only partially been implemented in South Africa, thus the paper is limited to exploring the issues, challenges and necessary policy and regulatory changes needed to support LBF.

The review of LBF mechanisms currently being used in South Africa highlights many of their practical limitations. Furthermore, concrete proposals and legislative amendments are proposed in the paper regarding the implementation of additional funding instruments such as TIF.

Infrastructure is regarded as a key precondition for socio-economic development. LBF offers a viable and important alternative for fiscally constraint governments in emerging economies to fund infrastructure provision.

The main contribution of the paper is its focus on the use of LBF in the under-researched Sub-Saharan African context.

The essence of finance has become essential in the sustainability discussion in recent times as a result of the capital intensive nature of sustainable projects. This has motivated financial experts and institutions to develop various financial instruments and mechanisms to further advance the course of protecting the environment, and decreasing the release of excess carbon and GreenHouse Gases. This is to also provide the opportunity for funding Green or sustainable infrastructure development. This chapter advances a discourse on matters relating to sustainable financing of infrastructure projects. The fundamentals of sustainable or green funding of infrastructure projects, and sustainable schemes of financing green infrastructure projects are discussed.

Tax increment financing (TIF) has been adopted widely by municipalities to promote local economic development. This study aims to examine the effect of TIF adoption on property values at the parcel level in Indiana from 2009 to 2016.

Concerns of TIF adoption endogeneity are addressed by a two-stage estimation process using urban population ratio and unemployment rates as instruments.

In addition to finding influential socioeconomic and demographic factors, the results suggest that parcels located within TIF districts were sold more than parcels outside of TIF districts by approximately $5,000. Such premium is mainly picked up by the positive effect on commercial and agricultural parcels, which outweighs the negative TIF impact on residential types.

Arm’s length transaction data on property value are used to eliminate the subjective assessment bias, potential calculation errors during the evaluation process and econometric issues caused by using the assessed value.

India launched Smart City Mission in 2015 with an objective of development of 100 smart cities with a completion deadline in 2019 that was extended till June 2023. Smart City Mission is an important mission in the backdrop that urban population in India is projected to be 67.55 crore in 2035 from 48.30 crore in 2020. Further, by 2035, the percentage of population in India at mid-year residing in ‘urban area’ will be 43.2% as per the United Nations – Habitat's World Cities Report 2022 and it will be just next to China's urban population in 2035 that is projected at 1.05 billion. A recent World Bank report (2022) estimated that India will need to invest US (United States) $840 billion over the next 15 years, i.e. US $55 billion per annum – into urban infrastructure if it has to effectively meet the needs of its fast-growing urban population.

This chapter focuses on financing of sustainable smart cities in India. This chapter summarises financing options explored by the government in the beginning, challenges faced in financing of Smart City Mission in India over a period due to various developments such as pandemic, delay in execution of projects under the Smart City Mission, among others. Finally, suggestions have been given for making financing means effective and sustainable. These suggestions are based on the gaps between the ‘financing means thought of’ in the beginning and ‘financing means actually applied’ while executing Smart City Mission in India. Financing part is worth exploring in the background that India had the fiscal deficit at 3.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015–2016 and most recently, the country had the fiscal deficit at 6.71% of GDP in FY22. And the country also dealt with the pandemic like other economies and provided COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to all citizens. Insights are useful for any other economy with a similar sustainable and smart city mission while facing resource constraints.

A tax based on land value is in many ways ideal, but many economists dismiss it by assuming it could not raise enough revenue. Standard sources of data omit much of the potential tax base, and undervalue what they do measure. The purpose of this paper is to present more comprehensive and accurate measures of land rents and values, and several modes of raising revenues from them besides the conventional property tax.

The paper identifies 16 elements of land's taxable capacity that received authorities either trivialize or omit. These 16 elements come in four groups.

In Group A, Elements 1‐4 correct for the downward bias in standard sources. In Group B, Elements 5‐10 broaden the concepts of land and rent beyond the conventional narrow perception, while Elements 11‐12 estimate rents to be gained by abating other kinds of taxes. In Group C, Elements 13‐14 explain how using the land tax, since it has no excess burden, uncaps feasible tax rates. In Group D, Elements 15‐16 define some moot possibilities that may warrant further exploration.

This paper shows how previous estimates of rent and land values have been narrowly limited to a fraction of the whole, thus giving a false impression that the tax capacity is low. The paper adds 14 elements to the traditional narrow “single tax” base, plus two moot elements advanced for future consideration. Any one of these 16 elements indicates a much higher land tax base than economists commonly recognize today. Taken together they are overwhelming, and cast an entirely new light on this subject.

The Great Recession has strained governments at all levels and presented cities, especially formerly industrial cities, with nearlyunprecedented budgetary challenges. This paper examines the long-termimplications for infrastructure maintenance and service provision ofunfavorable economic and demographic trends in Philadelphia andBaltimore. The concept of the public equity holder, which borrows a term forpublic finance from corporate finance, introduces a category of potentialcontributors to the capital deficit undermining urban sustainability. Theconcept is illustrated by a case study of the two cities to explore howcandidate public equity holders, including taxpayers, nonprofits, and publicemployees, may contribute. Resulting from this research are identifiablefactors, particularly patience and risk tolerance, which have led to orimpeded partnerships promoting urban sustainability and will provide thefoundation for broader future study

Chapter 17 discusses challenges for financing nature-based solutions (NBS). Financing NBS is a key challenge to ensure scaling of the use of NBS in urban areas. This is mainly due to the difficulty to monetize the value generated through the provisioning of ecosystem services, as well as the multiple cobenefits that NBS provide. Certain types of NBS, such as green roofs, have been able to allow for private value capture, enabling such projects to attract private or blended capital. Others, where benefits are generally regarded as public good, have to rely on different financing strategies and instruments. The section provides an overview of financing solutions (public, private, and blended instruments) for different types of NBS and their applicability to NBS in the urban context.

Focuses on impact fee adoption as a means of financing growth in an increasing number of Florida communities. The discussion includes the types of impact fees, their multiple uses, the extent to which they have increased in number, and subsequent increases in costs to residents of new development. Concluding observations offer an analysis on the interplay of economic and political variables that may help to explain the present status of impact fees in Florida and their probable continued growth in Florida localities. While impact fees may be revenue enhancement mechanisms, they also raise serious policy making questions, the answers to which will depend on local political and economic circumstances.

This research aims to provide an insight into large-scale real estate projects in Europe and how they are using a more innovative blend of finance.

The methodology involved a mix of desk-based study, interviews and case studies. Interviews were held with financiers, policymakers, developers, investors, fund managers and academics. The specific case projects were Battersea Power Station Development in London; Leipziger Platz site in Berlin; and the Lammenschans site in the city of Leiden, The Netherlands.

The research found that there is growth in the blend of financial products used in real estate development within large-scale mixed-use projects. This new blend is set with greater equity financing, often from domestic and foreign consortiums generating institutional funds – alongside private debt financing – that utilise a mix of large-scale multi-bank finance.

The scale of the challenge in financing real estate development allied with capital budget constraints has meant that the appetite for innovative finance mechanisms has gained considerable momentum in practice and policy. This research investigates current examples in development finance and provides a discussion of the opinion of key multi-stakeholder participants in the individual cases, and trends more strategically at a broader level.

This detailed study of three major development sites and at a more broader strategic level is significant, in that it provides a better understanding of the differing blends of finance that are being used.

Louise Dejan was a successful real estate developer operating throughout northeast England. The city council of her hometown of Newcastle faced a problem common to many areas: how to encourage private investment into less attractive areas. In August 2012, Newcastle's East Pilgrim Street neighborhood remained an eyesore, despite its great location between the city's Central Station and city hall. It was a natural place for Dejan to build a typical urban office building over street-level retail building. On a particularly attractive site sat an asbestos-contaminated building, which was a former home to the Bank of England. The costs of remediation had kept developers like Dejan away for many years. To encourage redevelopment, the Newcastle City Council had recently designated the East Pilgrim Street neighborhood an Accelerated Development Zone (ADZ). This gave Dejan access to Tax Increment Financing (TIF), a method by which public funds could be spent to encourage private sector redevelopment of designated parcels of land. After studying the details of TIF and the financial projections of a potential new development, Dejan had to decide whether she should be the first to redevelop property in this well-located but seemingly forgotten neighborhood.