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The increasing use of impact fees represents a new trend in local fiscal policy which can have important effects on real estate markets. The ramifications for economic efficiency as well as for the pattern of metropolitan area development are not well understood by real estate academics or practitioners. Current discussion focuses primarily on who bears the burden of the fees. This paper shows that impact fees have interesting implications for a broader set of important issues. The fees provide communities with added flexibility in pricing entry into their jurisdictions, allowing existing residents to transfer to themselves the surplus associated with new development. Using impact fees can reduce the incentive for communities to engage in fiscally inspired exclusionary zoning. The optimal density of new development can increase following the introduction of fees. Widespread use of impact fees ultimately may help alter the current centralization in core cities of relatively poorer people and other demanders of high density development.

hanks to everyone who has shared links and leads to webinars and other programs! To clarify. I will post the final list of FREE webinars and other distance learning programs late next week. I will also post separate lists of FOR-FEE online degree programs, certification programs, and fee-based distance learning programs. Examples of these include Ryerson University's Certificate in Food Security and Green Mountain College's new Masters in Sustainable Food Systems. So, please do continue to send me examples of all of the above! Cheers, Duncan -----Original Message----- From: Sustainable Agriculture Network Discussion Group [mailto:SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU] On Behalf Of Duncan Hilchey Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 12:59 PM To: SANET-MG@LISTS.IFAS.UFL.EDU Subject: [SANET-MG] Food System Webinar Compilation Dear SANET List, Below is what I've collected so far toward a compilation of free webinars and distance learning programs of potential interest to food system and agricultural development professionals.  I do not believe this is exhaustive by any means. However, this is based on what folks (on COMFOOD, SANET, and FOOD PLANNING lists) led me to and what I was able to glean on my own from the Internet. I excluded some recommendations which I felt were too limited in scope. On the whole, the sustainable/organic agriculture and "good food" communities seems to have done an excellent job getting comprehensive programs online. I was less successful in identifying webinars and distance learning programs on food security. I do not know if there's a niche to produce these or whether I was simply not looking in the right place. In any case, please continue to send me links and leads-as well as corrections (I did this rather hastily). I will post the final compilation in the next few weeks-once your suggestions are exhausted. I would eventually like to see a one stop shopping clearing house created where e

Coase, Spatial Pricing and Self -organising Cities Chris Webster Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Wales Cardiff, PO Box 906, Cardiff, CF1 3YN, UK, Webster@Cardiff.ac.uk Fulong Wu Department of Geography, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 IBJ, UK, F.Wu@soton.ac.uk Abstract Modern computational techniques offer new horizons for urban economics in the form of agent-based simulation frameworks. This paper reports on a cellular automata (CA) simulation in which urban land transforms on the basis of locally optimal bargaining between developers and local communities (local governments). Because CA is an explicitly spatial modelling methodology, the space-time-specific paths to global equilibrium can be observed. Because it is an atomistic methodology (cells represent decision units), it is suitable for articulating microeconomic theories of urban processes including planning. We present a space-time-specific simulation of cities evolving under two alternative planning regimes. In one, the community has property rights and uses planning conditions, planning gain, impact fees and so on to ensure that each development occurs at a socially optimal density. This is a theoretically simplified rendition of the British development control system-simplified in the sense of acting from a position of perfect knowledge and having a single objective of optimising locational externalities. In the other simulation, developers have the right to develop but the community is allowed to make (rather than receive) compensatory payments in order to achieve socially optimal land-use patterns and densities. Decision-making in both systems is local and socially efficient. However, case-by-case ad hoc development control with compensatory exactions has the effect of steering development to the least-polluting locations. Although socially optimal densities can occur under alternative control regimes (as the second simulation demonstrates), the stylised