How can urban housing, and the land underneath, now account for half of all global wealth? According to Patrick Condon, the simple answer is that land has become an asset rather than a utility. If the rich only indulged themselves with gold, jewels, and art, we wouldn’t have a global housing crisis. But once global capital markets realized land was a good speculative investment, runaway housing costs ensued. In just one city, Vancouver, land prices increased by 600 percent between 2008 and 2016. How much wealth have investors extracted from urban land? In this engaging, readable, and clearly reasoned treatise, Patrick Condon explains how we have let land, our most durable resource, shift away from the common good – and proposes bold strategies that cities in North America could use to shift it back.

Patrick Condon is a professor at UBC's School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and has over 25 years' experience in sustainable urban design; first as a professional city planner and then as a teacher and researcher.

Patrick M. Condon's profile page

"Prof. Condon sees high urban land value as the underlying culprit, a fact that has increased the equity of homeowners, who represent around 65 per cent of Canadians. The point he is making is evident to anyone who has reviewed their home assessment – that the land is much more valuable than the home that sits on it."

Globe and Mail

"….readable, provocative, and satisfying…"

Setha Low, The Planning Report

"Condon writes in a clear, accessible style that makes the daunting, highly politicized housing crisis topic approachable and understandable...he makes the book both relatable and compelling...a must-read for anyone interested in the future of our cities, and is a call to action; challenging us to rethink urban development and advocate for policies that put people first."

BC Review