Finding answers in land

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is an independent, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to help solve global economic, social, and environmental challenges to improve the quality of life through creative approaches to the use, taxation, and stewardship of land. As a private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute seeks to inform public dialogue and decisions about land policy through research, training, and effective communication. By bringing together scholars, practitioners, public officials, policy makers, journalists, and involved citizens, the Lincoln Institute integrates theory and practice and provides a forum for multidisciplinary perspectives on public policy concerning land, both in the United States and internationally.

The Lincoln Institute's work is organized into three thematic areas:

• Planning and Urban Form
• Valuation and Taxation
• International Studies

A Brief History

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy traces its origins to John C. Lincoln, a Cleveland industrialist and investor who in 1946 established the Lincoln Foundation in Phoenix, Arizona. He was intrigued by the writings of Henry George, as expressed in the book Progress and Poverty(1879), in particular George's ideas about land ownership and taxation. Lincoln created the Foundation to support other institutions in the teaching, research, and publication of information about George's work.

From the late 1940s through the early 1970s, the Lincoln Foundation sponsored a variety of university-based education and research programs on theoretical and applied economics and taxation. In 1966 the Foundation established the John C. Lincoln Institute at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, and in 1968 it supported the creation of the Land Reform Training Institute in Taiwan (renamed the International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training in 1998).

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy was established as a school in 1974 and became the Foundation's primary grant recipient to develop multidisciplinary education, research, and publications programs. The Institute focused on property valuation and taxation policy, urban planning and development, land economics, and property rights. To expand its work internationally, the Institute established the Program on Latin America and the Caribbean in 1993 and the Program on the People's Republic of China in 2003.

In 2006 the Lincoln Foundation and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy merged to become a private operating foundation. The organization continues its focus on research, publications, and training, while seeking a more active role in the conversations that shape public policy decisions.