While supply-focused housing policy reforms in coastal states usually focus on expanding the stock of multifamily rental housing, cities in the south have pursued a different strategy: making it easier to build and sell small-lot single family homes for ownership. …
Did Someone Say … Housing Policy is (Still) Climate Policy?
Can infill housing reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help California achieve its climate goals? In US urban land-use reform: a strategy for energy sufficiency, Terner Center associate research director Zack Subin and his coauthors argue that it can: by concentrating…
Election Aftermath: We Still Need More Homes
It’s been two weeks since the historic election of 2024. Some races are still too-close to call, and statisticians will need another few weeks to collect, clean, and analyze election data before we can confidently substantiate some of the hot…
Unrepresentative Sample: How Public Meetings Weaken Fair Housing Outcomes
The practice of inviting the public to comment on proposed projects in long, often-contentious meetings is a hallmark of American urban planning practice in the post urban renewal age. However, recent research out of Boston suggests that the public that…
Cruel Musical Chairs: How to Talk About Housing Supply (HINT: use video)
Image from Video: Cruel Musical Chairs (or Why Is Rent So High?), by Dan Bertolet, Copyright 2017 Sightline Institute; used with permission. Despite the expert consensus that building more homes reduces housing prices, a significant portion of the public remains…
VIDEO: The California Dream of Home Ownership
For millions of Californians, the vision of owning their own home is at the heart of the California dream. The sense of stability that comes with owning your home, along with the ability to provide for your family while having…
When Wages Prevail: Assessing the Cost of Construction
In California, legislation to streamline housing production and to fund the construction of deed-restricted affordable housing often requires builders to pay “prevailing wages” to the construction workers who work on the resulting project. These requirements are based on the idea…
The Roots of YIMBYism: A Journey Through Housing History
When did the YIMBY movement really begin? In The Uneven March of Progress: The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning Reform in the United States, Stephen Menendian draws historic parallels between the modern YIMBY movement, which arose during the aftermath…
A Stronger Builders Remedy: AB 1893
AB 1893 makes the Builder’s Remedy a more effective tool for housing production by providing greater legal clarity and certainty for home builders who use it in localities that are out of compliance with state housing law. The bill moves…
The Accessory Success Story: How San Diego Builds Multi-Family ADUs
In 2016 the California state legislature passed a series of bills that broadly legalized accessory dwelling units (ADUs), sometimes known as “granny flats” or “in-law units.” These “accessory” homes – so-called because they are legally a part of the existing…