Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies

Vacant land, in Bowman and Pagano's study, may be a contaminated lot, an abandoned building, or a park. They believe vacant land can also be the ultimate urban resource. Based on a survey sent to every US town with a population over 50,000, their study identifies the fiscal, social, and development imperatives (including the dynamics of taxes) that drive the decisions local officials make about using or ignoring vacant land; they conclude with a model for making strategic decisions about land based on a city's priorities. Bowman teaches government at the U. of South Carolina, and Pagano is director of the graduate program in public administration, U. of Illinois at Chicago. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Ann O'M. Bowman is professor and Hazel Davis and Robert Kennedy Endowed Chair in Government and Public Service, the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University and coauthor ofState and Local Government: The Essentials.

Michael A. Pagano is director of the graduate program in public administration, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and coauthor with Ann Bowman ofCityscapes and Capital: The Politics of Urban Development.