Most housing and commercial developments in California cities go through a series of reviews by various government bodies before they are approved for construction, or “entitled” – and those processes differ dramatically. In many cases, projects are approved “by right”…
Why is Housing Unaffordable? The Great Migration’s Effect on Exclusionary Zoning
Published: 2020 | Alexander Sahn Abstract High housing prices drive inequality, reduce growth, and increase racial segregation. Scholars have identified laws restricting the use of land, particularly for dense multi-family housing, as a primary cause of housing unaffordability. What explains…
Parcel Tax in California: Findings from New Data Sources
Published: 2020 | Soomi Lee | CityScape Abstract This article examines parcel taxes in California counties, cities, and special districts. Unique to California, the parcel tax is commonly known as a lump-sum tax applied to parcels of real property to…
Warding Off Development: Local Control, Housing Supply, and NIMBYs
Published: 2020 | Evan Mast | The Center for Growth and Opportunity Abstract Local control of land-use regulation creates a not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) problem that can suppress housing construction, contributing to rising prices and potentially slowing economic growth. I study how…
From Copenhagen to Tokyo
Published: 2020 | Sarah Karlinsky, Paul Peninger, Cristian Bevington | SPUR Abstract The selected case studies demonstrate a breadth of approaches that address both supply and demand challenges for housing in its entirety, as well as affordable housing more specifically.…
Urban Growth and its Aggregate Implications
Published: 2019 | Gilles Duranton, Diego Puga | Public Economics Abstract We develop an urban growth model where human capital spillovers foster entrepreneurship and learning in heterogenous cities. Incumbent residents limit city expansion through planning regulations so that commuting and…
NLC Preemption Report
Published: 2017 | National League of Cities Abstract Preemption is the use of state law to nullify a municipal ordinance or authority. Proponents of preemption argue that it equalizes laws across the state, preventing individuals and firms from navigating a…
Long Shadow of Racial Discrimination: Evidence from Housing Covenants of Minneapolis
Published: 2019 | Aradhya Sood, William Speagle, and Kevin Ehrman-Solberg Abstract This paper studies the effect of racially-restrictive covenants prevalent during the early-to-mid 20th century on present-day socioeconomic outcomes such as house prices and racial segregation. Racial covenants were clauses…
California Zoning: Housing Construction and a New Ranking of Local Land Use Regulation
Published: 2019 | Salim Furth and Olivia Gonzalez | Mercatus Center Abstract New survey data on residential land use regulation in California have allowed us to create the Mercatus-Augmented Terner California Housing Regulation (MATCHR) Index, which characterizes formal restrictions on…
Auctioning the Upzone: A New Strategy to Induce Local Government Compliance with State Housing Policies
Published: 2018 | Chris Elmendorf Abstract States should confer on local governments the right to auction development rights created by upzoning pursuant to state policy. This is akin to a state subsidy, but it would come at no cost to…