China Seminar - April 30 @ Noon - The New Singapore: Are planning & taxation policies helping to make housing more affordable?
Time: 12:00 -1:30pm April 30, 2015; Location: Urban Center 220
Title: The New Singapore: Are planning & taxation policies helping to make housing more affordable?
Abstract: Introductory visuals will illustrate Singapore’s impressive changes to the urban landscape. A tour of the Urban Redevelopment Authority and Housing Development Board will demonstrate how the city-state’s planning policies and redevelopment schemes are implemented. During a short transition we will look at efforts to preserve and enhance historic architectural features. Then, an in depth discussion will focus on international comparisons in housing. How have the each of the unique approaches to local taxation in Singapore, Hong Kong, and China influenced housing production and affordability? We’ll look at what has been done and discuss what might be done better.
Bio: Tom Gihring is a retired Portland-based planning consultant, most recently specializing in the analysis of land use effects and investment incentives accompanying land value property taxation. As an officer with the local chapter of Common Ground-USA, he has been working on tax & revenue reform bills introduced in the Oregon legislature. Formerly he had been engaged as a technical advisor on planning laws and implementation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and on regional development in Senegal. He has held academic appointments in Oregon and Nigeria.
Looking forward to seeing you all this Thursday!