CAUSES

1. The historical approach to spatial development of the city - Riga as a monocentric city

2. Inadequate control mechanisms over the implementation of laws of the Republic of Latvia, regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers and decisions and rules of the Riga City Council

3. Lack of co-ordination and order in rules and regulations governing issues such as territorial planning, use of land and real estate taxation

4. Lack of precise information about the share of different land uses

5. Lack of regulatory mechanisms with appropriate means, in particular, taxation policy, to preserve or compensate for the loss of natural base of high biologically value

6. Taxation policy has not been designed to foster a flexible interest among land owners, the city being one of them, in the preservation of nature

7. Changes in the land ownership rights and the desire of owners to utilise their property in the most profitable way: lack of a clear system of ownership rights, absence of a mechanism of tax relief and compensation