Les Gets, France

The commune of Les Gets, population 1,300, is a ski resort located roughly 30 miles east of Geneva, Switzerland in the Haute-Savoie department of the Rhone-Alpes region in the mountains of southeast France. It is near the commune of Taninges which also has a TDR program.

In about 1980, Les Gets adopted an urban development plan with several TDR sending zones that are allocated a density of 0.05 which can be transferred to TDR receiving zones. The program requires notaries (public officials in France) to be intermediaries in all TDR transfers. These notaries organized the TDR market, a function that was particularly critical at the start of the program. Renard (2000) also notes that the longevity of the program has accustomed stakeholders to using the TDR option. In larger development projects, the use of TDR is mandatory, bolstering demand for TDRs. The Les Gets program generates from 10 to 20 transfers per year.

Renard, V. (2000) Land markets and transfer of development rights: some examples in France, Italy and the United States in Fossati, A. et al (eds) Tourism and Sustainable Economic Development. Norwell, Massachusetts: Kluwer Academic Publishers.