A joint presentation by the Transport Thematic Group and Urban & Water Thematic Group
To defray, in whole or in part, the cost of a specific improvement or services that is presumed to be of general benefit to the public and of special benefit to the owners of selected group of properties, countries or cities have sometimes made use of betterment levies that attempt to capture increases in the land values of those properties. A recent World Bank note presents and analyzes the use of this kind of levies (“contribución de valorización”) in Bogota, Colombia, to finance transport infrastructure between 1995 and 2018. By going beyond the traditional analyses, the study situates the levy within the city’s broader fiscal evolution, including property and sales tax reforms and cadaster modernization. Drawing on legal reviews, interviews, and financial data, the note distills key lessons for cities in the developing world—such as enabling legislation, a robust cadaster, city-wide standards, and citizen participation. It also underscores the need to consider the total tax burden on residents and the political economy of earmarked revenues. Are Bogotá’s experience and lessons relevant for other cities to demonstrate that even partial revenue from land-value capture can meaningfully close infrastructure financing gaps when supported by strong institutions and fiscal discipline?
To present and discuss this topic, we are fortunate to have two leading experts on land taxation and development: Mr. Arturo Ardila-Gomez, lead transport economist in the World Bank’s Transport Global Unit, and Mr. George McCarthy, President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Arturo Ardila-Gomez, a Colombian National, is a lead transport economist in the Transport Global Unit of The World Bank. He was, until recently, the lead transport economist in the Middle East and Northern Africa Region. He oversaw a portfolio of transport projects, primarily in Egypt, Iraq, and Malta. He has also led lending operations in the East Asia Pacific and the Latin America regions. He was Global Lead for Urban Mobility at The World Bank’s Transport Global Unit, where he led the Urban Mobility Global Solutions Group. He also provides technical support to projects for all regions in the Bank on issues such as financing, fare collection, the political economy of reform, the role of disruptive technologies, and transit-oriented development (TOD). He is the author of several peer-reviewed articles and three books. Examples are “Planning for Transit-Oriented Development in Emerging Cities,” Land-Value Capture in Bogotá: Case Studies on the Valorization Levy,” “Public Transport Reform in Developing Countries: Lessons From Experience,” “Sustainable Urban Transport Financing from the Sidewalk to the Subway,” “Decarbonizing cities by improving public transport and managing land use and traffic,” and Smart Cities, ITS, Mobility, and Energy Efficiency. His research focuses on financing, transport and land use, decarbonization, sustainable transport asset management, and improving monitoring and evaluation quality, including indicators, for transport projects. He holds a doctorate in urban transportation planning and a master’s in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is also a civil engineer with a master’s in economics from Los Andes University in Bogota (Colombia).
George McCarthy, a US National, is the President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a position he has held since 2014, advancing creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. With over three decades of leadership, research, and teaching experience, previously, he spent 14 years at the Ford Foundation, where he served as Director and earlier as Director of the Metropolitan Opportunity Unit, leading initiatives on urban development, housing, and equity. His academic career includes serving as Professor of Economics at Bard College and Graduate Instructor in Environmental Studies, as well as Resident Scholar at the Jerome Levy Economics Institute, conducting research in housing finance, labor markets, and macroeconomic forecasting. Prior to that, he was a Senior Research Associate at the University of North Carolina, contributing to applied research in land use and policy. This combined background reflects his deep and intensive career dedicated to integrating rigorous economic research with innovative policy solutions for more inclusive and sustainable communities.
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