Using Land Markets to Evaluate Urban Containment Programs

This article develops a theory of how urban containment programs should influence the regional land market, and then it develops a model to apply the theory to a case study. The results are threefold. First, the urban containment program employed by Salem, Oregon, separates the regional land market into urban and rural components. Second, by making greenbelts out of privately held farmland, the program prevents speculation of farmland in the regional land market. Third, greenbelts add an amenity value to urban land near them. The article suggests several policy implications that arise from the theory and case study.