Ireland’s problem with land – How one government document has made housing even scarcer and more expensive

Some interesting nuggets in here!

> **The reason why the NPF restricts the growth of Dublin and its environs is because planners believe that by restricting Dublin’s growth, that growth will go to the rest of the country**. In short, the NPF restricts growth to achieve what it calls ‘regional balance’.

> This is sometimes called the Balanced Regional Development model or BRD. It has been contrasted with the Business as Usual or BAU approach. The BAU approach would see Dublin’s continued growth in an “unchecked” fashion. From the point of view of planning authorities this would be unacceptable. And the NPF is explicit in saying that it won’t let Dublin’s growth continue “unchecked.”

> **After the Second World War, Britain attempted extensive supply side interventions to restrict the growth of London and other successful cities in the hope this would assist regional development. The majority of empirical analysis has shown this to be a failure.** For example, previous European research into industrial relocation schemes–which sought to relocate industrial investment away from the Midlands and London– found that of all projects refused, only 18% instead went ahead in an area approved by the government. 31% were scrapped entirely. In other words, the policy destroyed several jobs for every job that was successfully relocated. Ultimately, this policy undermined the success of Birmingham.

> As the urban planner and economist Alain Bertaud put it in *Order Without Design* (2018):

> > The assumption that the preparation of national or regional plans would result in a predictable urban growth rate is…demonstrably false. Unfortunately, in many countries this common planning conceit has resulted in misallocated public investments and regulatory impediments that have decreased cities’ productivity.

!ping YIMBY&UK&IRELAND