Research Projects

An Analysis of Land-Based Strategies for Financing Urban Development in Brazil: Revitalization of Rio de Janeiro’s Central Area and Beyond

Start Date: December 2008
End Date: February 2010

Researchers
David Vetter holds a PhD in urban and regional planning from the University of California at Los Angeles, specialized in urban and regional finance. He continues to work on urban finance as president of the consulting company Consultoría Econômica Ltda. in Brazil.. Márcia Vetter holds an MBA from John Hopkins University and has worked for large financial firms in the U.S. and in Brazil on topics related to finance, project management and internal audits. She is presently works at Consultoria Econômica Ltda. in Brazil.

Description
This study analyzes ways in which land-based financing instruments could be used within Brazil’s institutional and legal framework to capture a portion of the real estate value generated by revitalization of Rio’s center, in order to finance the needed infrastructure investments, housing subsidies for lower income families and other public services. The study reviews land-based instruments that can capture the value generated in urban development and discuss how these instruments might be molded into a financial strategy for revitalization of Rio’s center. The analysis estimates how much land value can be generated in the proposed revitalization projects and which instruments might be most effective to capture it, as well as the impacts on real estate property and transfer taxes, and tax and fee revenues from construction.