This working paper deals with land use policy and spatial development dynamics in the Swiss region of Oberaargau from 1990 to 2014. It aims to evaluate the redistribution of economic and ecological added and reduced value through an analysis of contextual and institutional factors, determining land use planning and effective soil uses. Two different scales of analysis are used. The regional analysis shows that contextual factors such as demographic evolution, location, economic condition, polity setting and political context strongly influence land use. Important subregional disparities exist and current land use policy does not always take them into account: while some easy accessible communes experience an important increase in terms of population and constructions and would benefit from additional building rights, others foster outsize growth and promote the extension of building zones despite a shrinking population level.
The local analysis shows that existing redistributive instruments are marginally implemented, sometimes even applied to unforeseen purposes: one case shows the
betterment tax was used to finance equipment, or in another case, the amount taxed was subject to important variations. In regard to zoning, the betterment tax is utilized in order to circumvent legal restrictions on the extension of the building zone. In all cases, the instruments do not allow the redistribution of value beyond communal borders.
However, redistributive instruments may help to reduce subregional disparities in the future. Therefore, the following issues should be addressed by policy makers:
1. A building obligation, particularly for already zoned-in plots is essential, as the gap between zoning and effective land use remains important;
2. The calculation method for building zone dimensioning, as it grants until today each commune the right to zone regardless of their demographic evolution;
3. Instruments allowing the redistribution of value at supra-communal or regional levels in order to compensate advantages and disadvantages resulting from institutional changes, such as zoning restrictions for communes, building rights transfer for land-owners, or the remediation of contaminated sites.