Inequality vs. Density

Crowd more people onto the same land and competition for location drives rent — and inequality — upward. Here are all 50 US states, most of which only have insufficient land-value capture tools in place (e.g. property taxes), or mechanisms that capture only a fraction of the rent and only indirectly (e.g. income taxes), overlaid with a handful of places that have more stringent mechanisms in place. The rent-capturers stay remarkably more equal, even when far more densely packed. Toggle the highlight to find them.