Development incentives are programs municipalities use to encourage specific types of development that serve community goals but might not occur through market forces alone. Common incentives include tax increment financing (TIF) that rebates property tax increases, grants or loans for brownfield remediation, reduced or waived development charges, expedited approvals, reduced parking requirements, and density bonuses. Municipalities may target incentives toward affordable housing, heritage building rehabilitation, downtown revitalization, industrial employment, brownfield cleanup, or transit-oriented development. Effective incentive programs clearly define goals, target limited resources to projects that wouldn't otherwise proceed, include accountability measures, and evaluate results. Critics caution against incentives that subsidize development that would have occurred anyway or that create unfair advantages. Well-designed incentives can help achieve planning objectives that purely regulatory approaches cannot.