The Availability of Land for Inner City Development: A Case Study of Inner Manchester

Abstract

Much of the existing literature on land availability centres upon the controversial policy debates concerning land release at the urban periphery. Recently, the Government has assumed that Green Belt policies could be used to redirect development towards inner urban areas. Although inner cities may contain substantial areas of vacant land, there are very real constraints upon its immediate development. Flexible planning policies will not in themselves guarantee inner city regeneration. Complex ownership, physical and price constraints act as blockages in the development process and prolong land vacancy. Future local land policies will need to develop a concerted approach to tackling these constraints if the inner city is to compete with the urban periphery for new development.