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…
We Can’t Build, and it’s Very, Very Bad: On the Politics of Urban Growth
Leaving aside the specific policy barriers to building—strict zoning, onerous permitting processes, environmental review laws that empower litigious neighbors, and so on— most jurisdictions and states across the United States struggle to build housing and infrastructure, and most policymakers fail…
Leveling the Field: Reforming Land Use for “Missing Middle” Homes
In housing construction, new homes are said to “pencil out” – or be financially feasible – when the expected rental income or sales price is high enough to cover construction costs plus a reasonable return on investment. A project that…
How Urban Housing Shortages Fuel Costly Climate Disasters
How do urban housing shortages caused by tight zoning and other land use regulations increase the risk of climate disaster? In Relational Geographies of Urban Unsustainability: The Entanglement of California’s Housing Crisis With WUI Growth and Climate Change, Miriam Greenberg,…
Defective Condo Defect Laws: Ripe for Repair?
Since 2011, 97 percent of California’s new multifamily housing has been built for rent, not for ownership. While the state needs to continue to build hundreds of thousands of rentals – more supply will drive down housing costs, and stabilize…
Movin’ On Up? The Low Ceiling of North American Elevator Standards
Why do we have so many walk-up apartment buildings without elevators in North America, and why are buildings with elevators so expensive compared to the rest of the world? In a new report simply titled “Elevators”, Stephen Smith, from the…
“Informal” Housing – It’s Not Just a Formality
California’s statewide accessory dwelling unit (ADU) reforms are an unambiguous housing policy win, enabling the permitting and construction of tens of thousands of new homes all across the state. However, legal ADU development is not the whole story: even with…
More Homes: Illegal in 96% of California
“How much of California’s residential land is zoned exclusively for single family homes?” is a fairly straightforward question that is surprisingly difficult to answer – because state-level data on zoning largely does not exist. Until now. In Single-Family Zoning in…
What is “Inclusionary Zoning”? The California YIMBY Explainer
What is “affordable housing?” When most people hear the term “affordable housing,” they think “housing that I can afford based on my income and expenses,” not “housing that is subsidized and restricted to households that make less than a certain…
AHF Rent Control Measure Analysis
By Max Dubler Introduction (Updated to reflect that this measure has been placed on the ballot as Proposition 33) In November 2024, California will vote on Proposition 33, also known as the Justice For Renters Act, a ballot measure that…