Coasian approaches to urban development: Establishing responsibilities and enhancing cooperation in urban governance
Abstract
In contexts of high transaction costs and unclear property rights, urban planning may benefit from Coasian principles. This paper examines how such principles can clarify actors’ responsibilities and foster cooperation in market-oriented planning systems. Using Poland’s Housing Act (2018) as a test case, it analyses how negotiated agreements between public and private actors operate outside traditional land-use plans. The study contributes to debates on planning reform by adopting a Coasian institutional perspective, showing how flexible legal frameworks can reallocate development rights. It argues that Coasian approaches may improve planning outcomes where formal regulatory systems are fragmented or weak.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Urban Planning and Governance
Housing
Finance
and Neoliberalism
Urban Planning and Valuation
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Planning Theory
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 398-421
- Publication date
- 5 February 2026
- Language
- EN