With fewer houses available, American households are moving less, according to a new study by Myers et al. (2020). This has profound consequences for household formation and economic opportunity in the United States. Key takeaways: Americans are moving less. Since…
How Short-Term Rentals Increase Homebuilding
Does the proliferation of short-term rental services like Airbnb reduce the supply of housing and increase displacement, or does it boost the overall housing supply? A new study by Bekkerman et al (2021) finds evidence of some marginal benefit: short-term…
Sprawl Costs the U.S. $1 Trillion Every Year
In a 2015 report for the Victoria Transport Policy Institute and London School of Economics, transportation scholar Todd Litman analyzed the total cost of suburban sprawl in the United States. The topline figure: $1 trillion per year. Key takeaways: “Sprawl…
700 Cities, One Warming Planet
What can city governments do to fight climate change? In an influential 2018 paper, renowned climate scientists Daniel Kammen, Chris Jones, and Stephen Wheeler analyzed the emissions reduction potential of 717 California cities and all 58 counties. What they found:…
VIDEO: Why Housing Policy is Climate Policy
“The climate crisis is getting worse because of the housing crisis” California’s housing shortage and affordability crisis is increasing the pollution that causes climate change, exacerbating the risk of deadly and destructive wildfires while simultaneously forcing more Californians to live…
The White House Weighs In on Zoning Reform
In a new blog post by the Biden administration’s Council of Economic Advisors, CEA Chair Jared Bernstein and his team lay out the case for increasing housing supply, with a bold federal agenda for building on state and local-level zoning…
What’s the Value of “Value Capture”?
A new essay by UCLA’s Michael Manville delivers a strong critique of the method many cities use to extract fees and concessions in exchange for allowing new homes to be built. Known as “value capture,” these fees are sold as…
California YIMBY Celebrates Signing of Historic Housing Legislation
Governor Newsom Takes a Stand for More Affordable Homes, Signs SB 9, SB 10, SB 8, and AB 1174 “A great day for everyone who wants to end California’s affordable housing shortage” SACRAMENTO – California YIMBY today celebrated the signing…
Does Homeownership Influence Attitudes Toward Housing? Survey Says … Probably?
A new Michael Manville (2021) paper asks: how can coastal liberals reconcile their egalitarian values with exclusionary land-use policies that exacerbate inequality? California survey data suggests that homeownership can give liberals a NIMBY streak. Key takeaways: Self-identified liberal homeowners in…
How Transit Makes Housing More Affordable
A new study by Matan Singer at the University of Michigan covering twenty-seven metropolitan regions shows how proximity to transit can reduce housing cost burdens for low-income households by reducing transportation costs. While public transit is substantially less expensive than…