Suchergebnisse

While California struggles with a housing shortage, city and county zoning laws prevent residential development on large swathes of land within the state. One such restriction is Solano County's Orderly Growth Initiative, which generally prevents landowners from creating residential subdivisions on land zoned as agricultural.

Skyscrapers under construction against the Manhattan skyline.

In Japanese city planning, the effective floor area ratio (FAR) of land lots, or housing density, is delimited by zoning and restrictions on the form of buildings (shape controls). To evaluate this system comprehensively, the authors analyze how the maximum allowable FAR (effective FAR) of residential lots affects land prices with a hedonic approach. Based on data on Tokyo, the analysis reveals that lots with an effective FAR of less than 110%, or between 170% and 210%, were significantly cheaper than those with an effective FAR of between 110% and 160%. The result for the low effective FAR group was explained by restrictions on floor space, and the result for the 170% to 210% group applied to areas with relatively unattractive landscape. Further examination showed that the FAR currently specified by zoning is more often effective when it is low, and that restrictions in the form of shape controls are more often effective when the effective FAR is high. These analyses provided criteria for evaluating the current land use control system. Based on the results, concrete proposals are made for improving the regulation system.

AbstractThe focus of this paper is the analysis of genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) from the perspective of the diffusion of crop improvements to developing countries. One of the possible consequences of genetic use restriction technologies is a distinct downward shift in the growth trajectories of agricultural productivity in developing countries by restricting the flow of innovations to which these countries have had access in the past. In this case, developing countries are likely to face cumulative losses in agricultural productivity growth as a result of widespread adoption of GURTs by crop innovators. This paper presents the results of a study on hybrid crops, a precursor technology, to establish the negative effect of use restriction technologies on diffusion and discusses the implications of widespread use of GURTs for developing countries. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recent droughts in 2012 and 2013 have increased attention to water use issues in the United States. Cities, government agencies, and environmental nonprofit organizations use scientifically-framed messages to advocate for water conservation. In addition, some religious organizations use messages based on religious teachings to promote water conservation. Because approximately 70% of the U.S. public reports some religious affiliation, it is important to investigate the influence of religious and scientific messages for promoting water conservation. I report the results of an experiment that examines how scientifically- and religiously-framed messages influence attitudes about water use restrictions. I found that Christians were no more or less likely to agree with a policy calling for water use restrictions than non-Christians and non-religious people. However, a Christian religious message negatively influenced agreement with water use restrictions in the entire sample—and in a Christian subsample. Results suggest that religiously framed messages may not increase environmental concern.