Thesis (MPhil.) - University of Queensland, 2005. / Includes bibliography.

In this thesis I examine the planning tool most commonly known as the transfer of development rights (TDR) and discuss its application in Vancouver. Before addressing Vancouver's use of TDR, I establish the context of TDR use in North America, suggest appropriate policy objectives and constraints for TDR programs, and outline a series of operational decisions made in designing any TDR program. I proceed to evaluate Vancouver's TDR program in light of these discussions. I found that TDR programs can be effective tools for redistributing the costs and benefits of certain types of land use restrictions. However, TDR programs vary widely in their effects. Depending on the specific design of a given program, it can have very different implications. In Vancouver, the TDR program is a relatively minor adjunct to the process of heritage preservation. Like any planning tool, Vancouver's TDR program strikes a balance between various objectives. However, it can be generally stated that fairness or distributional concerns are prevalent in Vancouver's program. Specifically, the protection of property rights is one of the defining elements of the program. Vancouver's program has been marked by a strong discretionary component, which has tended to create high transactions costs. In recent years, though, transaction costs in Vancouver have gone down significantly. As transaction costs have decreased and the program has grown more fluid, the take-up rate of transferable density in Vancouver has increased. These trends are widely expected to continue, as Vancouver's transfer of density program further matures.

In this thesis I examine the planning tool most commonly known as the transfer of development rights (TDR) and discuss its application in Vancouver. Before addressing Vancouver's use of TDR, I establish the context of TDR use in North America, suggest appropriate policy objectives and constraints for TDR programs, and outline a series of operational decisions made in designing any TDR program. I proceed to evaluate Vancouver's TDR program in light of these discussions. I found that TDR programs can be effective tools for redistributing the costs and benefits of certain types of land use restrictions. However, TDR programs vary widely in their effects. Depending on the specific design of a given program, it can have very different implications. In Vancouver, the TDR program is a relatively minor adjunct to the process of heritage preservation. Like any planning tool, Vancouver's TDR program strikes a balance between various objectives. However, it can be generally stated that fairness or distributional concerns are prevalent in Vancouver's program. Specifically, the protection of property rights is one of the defining elements of the program. Vancouver's program has been marked by a strong discretionary component, which has tended to create high transactions costs. In recent years, though, transaction costs in Vancouver have gone down significantly. As transaction costs have decreased and the program has grown more fluid, the take-up rate of transferable density in Vancouver has increased. These trends are widely expected to continue, as Vancouver's transfer of density program further matures. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This thesis examines the ways in which development actors respond to and interpret a Rights-Based Approach (RBA) to development. It draws on a case study undertaken over a period of more than two years in Pakistan. The central research vehicle is a capacity-building process on RBA involving around 300 development professionals. The thesis examines the different responses to and understandings of RBA emerging in the case study, whether there are indications of changes in thinking and practice, and how the analysis fits with existing ideas about rights and development. Analysis draws on an ethnographic perspective and on participant observation, questionnaires, interviews and a range of tools, within the RBA process and from the wider social development field. It is argued that organisations increasingly aim to operationalise RBA through more inclusive, participatory development which enables the claiming of rights and promotes accountability for their fulfilment. One strand of RBA emphasises implementation of a universalising legal framework; another turns to more consciously political processes of struggle for, and institutional responses to, people's claims. The strands reflect a tension that runs through both the fieldwork and examined literature, between formal, centralist, and pluralist, actor-oriented approaches. Adopting one or the other of the two approaches has profound implications for what is 'seen' in development. The thesis shows that, depending on the approach taken, relations in the private sphere are either shut out or exposed, and the operation of power either hidden or revealed. Actors' responses to RBA are absorbed into, and used within, underlying debates on social relations and social and political change. In a Muslim context, responses lead people to confront sacrosanct certainties about human organisation and relations with authority. This is seen most vividly through gender relations, which are used both as a central expression, and a protector, of a particular construction of power. A formal, centralist treatment of RBA tends to reinforce existing relations through which rights are 'given' and 'received'. The thesis case study shows that, conversely, a pluralist, actor-oriented approach is more process-centred and places more emphasis on rights being 'made'. This, in itself, signals a change in actors' roles. It is argued that the energy of RBA lies in transformations in actors and in development relationships, rather than in achievement of bounded development outputs. Significant impacts, amongst a minority of responses to RBA, grow out of actors seizing more active, politicised roles in development, despite depoliticised donor approaches.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "August, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-87). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

no abstract provided by author / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

No description available.

The application of a transfer of development rights (TDR) programme is a concept which has been used, both formally and informally, by regulators of development, as a mechanism to protect areas of historical, cultural, ecological, agricultural and environmental importance. The application of a TDR programme requires definition of a TDR boundary and the identification of sites within such area which are capable of sustaining development (receiving sites) and sites that are not suited to development (sending sites). A TDR programme serves to protect the natural environment; preserve historical and cultural diversity; and, strives to achieve an equitable spread bf development opportunities amongst property owners in a given area. There are those involved with current development planning policy within KwaZulu-Natal who propose that the planning legislation should formally incorporate TDR regulations into the KwaZulu-Natal Planning and Development Act (Act 5 of 1988). TDR programmes in KwaZulu-Natal have been applied in a limited sense and in an informal manner. To date, no area in KwaZulu-Natal has been formally designated as a TDR area and the formal implementation and the feasibility of instituting a TDR programme has not been tested. It is suggested that within an area where environmental, agricultural, historical or cultural significance has been identified an opportunity for the application of a TDR programme exists. The planning and implementation of a TDR programme within a designated area provides an opportunity for integrated and sustainable development to occur. Within a defined TDR area the parameters for development capacities are agreed to upfront through negotiation between property owners, approving authorities and interested and affected parties. Consequently the possibilities of over or inappropriate development levels within the defined special area are significantly reduced. It must be noted that TDR programmes are area specific and therefore should only be applicable in areas which are of significant agricultural, environmental, historical, cultural and ecological value. This thesis identifies a possible areawhere a TOR programme could be applied. It was thought appropriate that the pilot area should be one which is environmentally sensitive and where only limited development has been permitted. The Midmar Area of Controlled Subdivision, situated north of Pietermaritzburg in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands provides an ideal opportunity where a TDR model could be examined and developed. In essence, this thesis defines TDR programmes and includes a brief investigation into international application of TDR programmes. In particular, it examines the application of a TDR programme at Lake Tahoe in the United States to illustrate the possible levels of sophistication that such a programme may achieve. It outlines the legislative framework in terms of which a TDR programme may be implemented for the study area. An overview of the current situation of the Midmar Area of Controlled Subdivision is presented which includes a summary of the attributes of the area; the current development pressures it faces; and, planning initiatives impacting on the Midmar Dam and its surrounds, all of which inform the study. The thesis also examines how and whether the implementation of a TOR programme could be successfully achieved. The study concludes that the Midmar Area of Controlled Subdivison would form an ideal foil on which to test the application of TOR programmes in KwaZulu-Natal. A set of recommendations which would form the basis for the implementation of a TOR programme in the Midmar Area of Controlled Subdivision is provided. The thesis does not attempt to identify each individual parcel of land which should be ascribed receiving or sending site status as this would require further in-depth study by various specialists. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

This dissertation examines the question of whether Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), a technique developed in the United States, might prove useful in Calcutta for urban conservation. ln many cases, municipal governments in India have been unable to preserve structures of historic value because they lacked the funds to compensate the Iosses imposed by designation. The owners of the Iandmark structures suffer financial Iosses for not being allowed to develop their properties to their full potential. The TDR technique has the advantage that through this program the owner of a designated Iandmark Is compensated from the sale of the unused development rights In his property. The community is benefited because of the landmark being preserved without the community’s cost. The City is benefited by the additional tax from the development potentials transferred from the Iandmark properties, which would have remained untaxed otherwise. This paper begins by providing an overview of the developments in building regulations, and emergence of TDR as an useful means for land use management through flexibility in zoning. The ongoing TDR programs of seven American cities and a forthcoming one are then studied to identify the central issues and features of this technique. The next chapter is devoted to the analyses of the problems and prospects of TDR programs in the United States. This includes an examination of the issues derived from the case studies as well as a questionnaire survey. The discussion in the following chapter provides some background on the city of Calcutta. The demand for redevelopment in the central city is compounded by the salutation that the growth of population is not matched by physical expansion of the city. CaIcutta’s economic climate, political environment and conservation ethics are also discussed to provide a comprehensive perspective of the testing ground. The test of the technique in Calcutta is discussed in the following chapter with reference to some cases. The concluding chapter includes the general and particular principles that ought to govern the TDR program in Calcutta. The conclusion also includes the administrative and institutional details that will be necessary to apply TDR technique in Calcutta. To summarize the findings of this research, it can be stated that the existing programs in the US cities have entered a second generation. While the legal issues attracted most attention in the first generation, the emphasis has now shifted to the design and implementation of the programs. The need for the program's close coordination with the overall planning and urban design of the city has been recognized. However, each program is designed according to some bias, and in view of supplementing some other planning goals - some of them being compatible, while others are not. The main issues of the program are: balance between TDR supply and market demand, distance between the originating and receiving sites, urban design and planning in the receiving districts, overage limit ln relation to the zoned density, transfer from public landmarks, banking of TDRs, and a 'single window' administration of the program for easy and 'fast track' approval incentive. Although a general downzoning and suspension of other bonus provisions will facilitate the TDR program, the market does not seem to support such steps. lncorporation of a TDR program in Calcutta is possible without any change in the existing building by-laws, but with a relaxation in the regulations governing the land ownership limits. The TDR prices in the receiving sites in BBD Bag and Esplanade areas commensurably match with the TDR values in the sending district of the Bag. But a district-wise transfer will have to be allowed rather than only to physically attached sites. Other receiving districts in the north and south axis along the rapid transit line have potential for future transfers. / Ph. D.

Transfer of development rights has been approved as a tool to manage growth in Virginia since 2006, yet it has not been widely employed. This tool can be used to direct growth and development at little or no cost to society while simultaneously preserving land for future generations. In an effort to understand the limited use of transfer of development rights programs in Virginia, this research collected information regarding obstacles and limitations to TDR program development and implementation, from every locality in the Commonwealth authorized to employ this tool. Based on findings of pertinent TDR literature, this research outlines the environment in which policy in Virginia is being developed as well as obstacles and limitations facing localities in developing TDR ordinances. Findings show that localities perceive several obstacles to program implementation and that certain socio-economic characteristics may have an impact on TDR program development in the Commonwealth of Virginia.