Coasian approaches to urban development: Establishing responsibilities and enhancing cooperation in urban governance

In contexts of high transaction costs and unclear property rights, urban planning may benefit from Coasian principles. This paper examines how such principles can clarify actors’ responsibilities and foster cooperation in market-oriented planning systems. Using Poland’s Housing Act (2018) as a test case, it analyses how negotiated agreements between public and private actors operate outside traditional land-use plans. The study contributes to debates on planning reform by adopting a Coasian institutional perspective, showing how flexible legal frameworks can reallocate development rights. It argues that Coasian approaches may improve planning outcomes where formal regulatory systems are fragmented or weak.