PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF URBAN LAND
P. T. KIVELL
Department of Geography, University of Keele, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG
I. Mc KAY
Trusthouse Forte (UK) Ltd.
Revised MS received 19 June, 1987
ABSTRACT
In most British cities a number of public bodies have become, for a variety of reasons, substantial land owners. Despite the extensive literature on land policy generally, and despite current debates about the role of the public sector in urban development there is very little published information about the pattern of urban land ownership. This paper reviews the controversial nature of public land ownership, discusses some of the reasons for it and examines the shortage of reliable information. It then reports on a detailed empirical study of one city, Manchester, and provides an account of the extent and pattern of public land holdings. Fourteen separate public bodies are shown to account for 65 percent of the land in the city. The pattern of public land ownership has had a pro found impact upon the developing urban form.
KEY WORDS: Land, Ownership, Public-sector, Manchester
