Santiago Lago-Peñas co-authors a new study on housing tenure and urban land supply in Spain, published in Urban Studies
A new article co-authored by Santiago Lago-Peñas, José María Tubío-Sánchez and Patricio Sanchez-Fernandez has been published in Urban Studies, a leading journal in urban research. Entitled “Renters, Mortgagors and Landowners: Social Composition and the Political Economy of Urban Land Supply in Spain”, the paper examines how the social composition of municipalities influences urban planning decisions and the supply of land for development.
The study addresses a central question in urban and political economy research: how do the different interests of renters, homeowners with mortgages and landowners shape local decisions on land use? Drawing on evidence from Spain during the housing bubble of 1999–2007, the authors investigate how housing tenure structures influence both land supply expansion and its electoral consequences.
The findings reveal that housing tenure matters for local land-use decisions. Municipalities with a higher proportion of mortgaged housing tend to experience less expansion in land supply, while a greater share of landowners is associated with increased land availability. These contrasting patterns suggest that residents' economic interests in housing and land can create different incentives for local governments when making urban planning decisions. The paper also examines the electoral implications of these decisions.
By connecting housing tenure, urban development and electoral outcomes, the research contributes to ongoing debates on housing affordability, urban growth and the political economy of land-use regulation. Its findings highlight the importance of understanding how residents' economic interests shape local policy choices and the conditions under which urban land becomes available for development.
Cite: Tubío-Sánchez, J. M., Lago-Peñas, S., & Sanchez-Fernandez, P. (2026). Renters, mortgagors and landowners. Social composition and the political economy of urban land supply in Spain. Urban Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980261489134
