European policies, aimed at reaching the target of zero land consumption by 2050, call for a reflection on the past experiences of environmental preservation actions carried out in different territorial contexts. Authors’ aim is to point out the limits and the opportunities of different regulatory tools, mainly market-based, founded on the development rights transfer for soil protection. These limits and opportunities are compared to the traditional normative.
Keywords: Land consumption; development rights; urban sprawl.
Jel Code: Q01, Q24, Q28