Increasing the urban mix through vertical allocations: Public floorspace in mixed use development

The shortage of available land in densified metropolitan cities demands maximizing its utility. Public authorities are required to find creative solutions to satisfy the growing demand for the supply of public space. The allocation of public services in privately owned buildings constitutes one instrument to answer these challenges. This paper introduces this tool by looking at the phenomenon of Vertical Allocations; specifically we examine how municipalities in Israel appropriate floorspace in newly built multi-purpose structures, which are privately owned. While designating these floors for public use, such as schools and kindergartens, municipal bodies assume responsibility for these new public resources. We identified and analyzed 58 projects inclusive of floorspace allocations for public uses. Following, we conducted over 25 interviews with key Israeli practitioners. We find that the allocation of public floorspace goes hand-in-hand with the trend of high-rise construction, and is promoted mainly in core metropolitan areas where land is scarce, and land values are usually much higher than in non-core peripheral areas. The most common public use allocated is for educational services. We find that the floorspace allocated for public needs consistently constitutes but a fraction of the total floorspace allocated for use by private owners. In Addition, Vertical Allocation of public floorspace presents special challenges, among which are uncertainty and challenges from joint ownership; too flexible or unknown future public functions; potential friction and nuisances due to proximity of uses; disagreement over construction costs and complexity of management within mixed-use buildings. Given rapid population growth, scarcity of land, and other challenges surrounding Israel's implementation of Vertical Allocations, the Israeli experience with this type of mixed use can serve as a teaching model and a test case for the rest of the world. •‘Vertical Allocations’ is the practice of allocating public services in mixed use, mostly privately owned, buildings.•Municipalities appropriate floorspace in newly built multi-purpose structures, while designating these floors for public utilities.•Vertical floorspace is allocated for a range of purposes including schools, kindergartens, municipal offices, and train stations.•Municipal agencies may require a developer to designate public floorspace and to transfer ownership of these floors to the local government.•This pheno