The Economist 04-04-2015
Land, the centre of the pre-industrial economy, has returned as a constraint on growth.
(..) If regulatory limits on building heights and density were
relaxed, fewer plots of land would be needed to satisfy a given level of
demand. That would reduce the rents collected by landowners, since any uptick
in demand could quickly be met by new development. Just as soaring agricultural
productivity led to a decline in the relative economic power of rural
landowners in the 19th and 20th centuries, the relaxation of strict limits on development would lead to a decline in property wealth relative to the economy as a whole. More of the gains of economic activity would flow to workers and investors. (..) (Destaque do blog)