Everywhere in the world, land use law and regulation affect real property values--either increasing or decreasing them. Regulatory takings is the potential raw nerve of land use regulation, yet policymakers and civic groups have tackled the issue without the perspective that a cross-national exchange of ideologies, laws, and practices can provide.

Takings International is the first large-scale effort devoted to this controversial issue, providing a vast platform of comparative knowledge on direct, indirect, categorical, and partial takings. Written for legal professionals, academics, urban and regional planners, real estate developers, and civil-society groups, the book analyzes thirteen advanced economy countries representing a variety of legal regimes, institutional structures, cultures, geographic sizes, and population densities.

The comparative prism yields some surprising and counterintuitive observations. In a climate of intensifying controversies about property and the role of public agencies, the book enables informed debate and provides all sides with a sense of scale by which to evaluate current state practices and propose alternatives.