INCREASE OF AMERICAN LAND VALUES 503 



the value of the land between 1906 and 1912 was from $1,196 per capita 

 to $1,296 per capita. This represents a total increase in land value of 

 more than five hundred million dollars. In the Borough of Bronx the 

 per capita land value fell from $771 to $657. This decrease was due 

 primarily to the fact that during these six years the population of Bronx 

 was almost doubled. For this borough, the total land value increased 

 sixty per cent. For the Borough of Brooklyn, the per capita valuation 

 rose from $325 to $450. The population increased less than twenty per 

 cent, and the land value rose from 456 millions to 786 millions. The 

 Borough of Queens, which is the least developed in Greater New York, 

 shows an increase in per capita land value from $388 to $862, an in- 

 creased 60 per cent, in population and an increase in the total land 

 value from 81 millions to 278 millions. The problem in the Borough of 

 Eichmond is very similar to that in Brooklyn. 



Although the land valuations in New York extend over only six 

 years, they show that during that time the total increase in the value of 

 the city's land was about 40 per cent., \yhile in the newer sections of the 

 city, notably in the Bronx and in Queens Borough, the increase was about 

 60 per cent. Neither in their totals nor in their proportions do these 

 increases compare with the increases in timber land values or in farm 

 land values. If the increase in New York land values is compared with 

 the increase in the farm land values of the richest agricultural states, or 

 of the best timber lands, they are comparatively small. 



The land of Boston has been assessed separately for the improve- 

 ments, at " the full and fair cash valuation " since 1887. There has been 

 no material addition to the area of the city of Boston during this time; 

 in fact, the number of square feet of land taxed decreased from eight 

 hundred and ninety-six million in 1876 to eight hundred and fifteen 

 million in 1912. This decrease was due to the taking of land for streets 

 and other public purposes. It is interesting to note in this connection 

 that between 1896 and 1911 two of the twenty-five wards in Boston show 

 a decrease in land value ; one shows an increase of one hundred dollars ; 

 one shows an increase of twelve thousand dollars; while twenty show 

 increases varying from one million to twenty millions of dollars. ^^ 



The value of all land in Boston between 1887 and 1911 has increased 

 steadil}'.^^ There is no year during the period that shows a decrease. 

 In 1887, the land valuation was 322 millions. For the next two decades 

 it was : 



1890 $365,548,000 1905 $618,642,000 



1895 443,695,000 1910 672,100,000 



1900 532,934,000 1911 685,484,000 



^'Annual Eeport of the Assessing Department for the Year 1911, City of 

 Boston Printing Department, 1912, p. 46. 

 " Supra, p. 16. 



