Letter: The city according to Rogers

From Mr N. Barraclough

Sir: In his assertion that "land taxes for retail, business and residential developments on out-of-town sites should reflect the real contribution of publicly financed infrastructure", Richard Rogers (13 March) has surely touched upon a principle worthy of wider application - one that appears to be particularly relevant to his vision of "an equitable city - a self- governing, participatory city where wealth and justice are fairly distributed".

Dense, polycentric cities presumably would generate high land values, at centres and in total. A tax on the annual value of every site on the basis of permitted use, not simply a betterment charge, would ensure that no land fell into disuse and would return communally created land value, different as it is from wage etc income, back to the community.

Yours faithfully,

N. BARRACLOUGH

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

13 March