Evolution of Property Rights: Locke to Modern Urban Planning

This lecture explores the evolution of property rights from Medieval times to modern urban planning, starting with the concept of land as a common good according to Medieval theologians, moving through John Locke's natural property rights, Adam Smith's acquired property rights, and the rise of speculation in urban land. It delves into historical examples such as the Metropolitan Association for Improving the Dwellings of the Industrious Classes in 1841, the Housing and Town Planning Act of 1919, and the Dutch Housing Act of 1901-1902. The lecture also covers the impact of social housing initiatives, the development of new towns like Castel Vale Housing Estate in Birmingham, and the rise of council housing in Manchester in the 1970s.

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Related concepts (33)

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Critical history of domestic architecture from its origins to the present.

Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, definitions of poverty, and other criteria for allocation vary within different contexts. In the United States, public housing developments are classified either as housing projects that are owned by a city's Housing authority or federally subsidized public housing operated through HUD.

A council house (also ‘corporation house’) or council flat is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 after the Housing Act 1919 to the 1980s, with much less council housing built since then. There were local design variations, but they all adhered to local authority building standards.

Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportation, communications, and distribution networks and their accessibility.

Property rights are constructs in economics for determining how a resource or economic good is used and owned, which have developed over ancient and modern history, from Abrahamic law to Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Resources can be owned by (and hence be the property of) individuals, associations, collectives, or governments. Property rights can be viewed as an attribute of an economic good.

The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically heavily constrained insofar as property is owned by legal persons (i.e. corporations) and where it is used for production rather than consumption.