Land Value Capture and Climate Change: An Assessment Framework

The built environment of a city is the result of cumulative land-use decisions and investments. Most of the research on Land Value Capture (LVC) is focused on site-specific mitigation. This study proposes a five Es approach to analyse LVC-supported climate change financing through engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation. This approach aligns with Canada's 2030 Agenda National Strategy and climate action plans. The framework is tested on a pilot case - the City of Ottawa. The assessment shows Ottawa needs to prioritise enforcement and evaluation aspects of climate financing. This study recommends a special budgetary provision to support climate-friendly projects municipally, linking existing and proposed climate projects and program funding to LVC sources of funds provincially and encouraging funding capacity building to create climate change awareness federally. A national policy document, evaluation framework and urban reform agenda are recommended for an enabling policy environment for LVC to support climate projects.