Cities need tools that work. Land-value taxation is one of them—and states are finally opening the door.
For nearly five years I worked in community development in Memphis, TN. At the Memphis Medical District Collaborative (MMDC), our team helped catalyze more than $500 million in development across 2.6 square miles between Downtown and Midtown—alongside nearly $2 billion in public and private investment from nearby anchors and public bodies. (What’s more? In 2022, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital unveiled a $13 billion strategic expansion plan.)
Progress, yes. But low demand, low wages, substandard housing, and vacancy still drag on the core and the neighborhoods around it. From the ground and from the air, the Memphis map shows growth and gaps living side by side.
While at MMDC, my team kicked around the idea of a land-value tax (LVT) for the Medical District. For the unfamiliar: an LVT shifts the burden off buildings and onto land to drive more equitable development outcomes. Same overall revenue, different weights. You stop penalizing repairs and additions. You raise the carry cost of sitting on underused or vacant parcels. Private decisions line up better with public investment.
Read the rest of this article on Different Landscapes, a substack by Ben Schulman, PPI board member and civic strategist: https://differentlandscapes.substack.com/p/tax-land-make-love
