Opportunity For Whom? How Communities Engage With Land Value Capture in Opportunity Areas

Opportunity areas and their planning frameworks are currently one of
the main forces driving development in Greater London. In this context,
intensive developments and speculation are resulting in rising land prices.
Tis, in addition to the shif from state-led to private or public-private
developments, where social infrastructure is now being provided to a
large extent by private developers, is having a direct impact on the way in
which land values are monetised and distributed among local councils and
communities in London.

This report aims to present an overview of how community groups in
three opportunity areas within London are currently engaging with
their planning and development and as a result, with land value capture
processes. Tis document is the result of interviews with key community
groups - referenced throughout the document - as well as attending
community group meetings, engaging with the community on social media,
and on-site ethnographic research.

In order to provide a wider context, the concepts of opportunity areas
and land value capture will be examined and analysed in the frst section
of the report. In the following sections, we will provide an analysis of
the main actors benefting from opportunity areas, as well as the specifc
experiences of local community groups when engaging with land value
capture processes in the context of opportunity areas. Finally, based on
these fndings, we will conclude with a set of policy suggestions aimed at
improving communities’ engagement with land value capture processes and
promoting a more equitable and just urban development in the UK.

This report was prepared as part of the Masters module ‘Community
Participation in City Strategies’ at University College London (UCL), run by
Prof Jennifer Robinson (Department of Geography), Prof Michael Edwards
(Bartlett School of Planning), and representatives of Just Space, ‘an informal
alliance of community groups, campaigns and concerned independent
organisations’ which acts ‘as a voice for Londoners at grass-roots level’.