Traditional policies to control urban sprawl can rub against commitments to private property rights. Land value taxation offers an alternative that's amenable to conservatives and progressive alike.

"Policy implementation in Nashville is particularly challenging because many of the policy instruments are often viewed as an infringement on private property rights that many Southerners hold as sacrosanct. Thus, there is interest in alternative instruments, other than zonal and acquisition types of policies, to moderate sprawl in the area. A higher tax rate on land than on land improvement or a “land value tax” is a potential policy tool to moderate sprawl in the Nashville area because it does not directly infringe on private property rights."