In response to the rise in remote work since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have abandoned office space they previously occupied. Much ink has been spilled on the topic of empty office buildings in downtowns and office…
The State of Housing 2023: More Multifamily Housing, But the Shortage Persists
The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University recently released its annual “State of the Nation’s Housing” report. The report provides a detailed summary of trends in the United States’ housing and rental markets. Construction of multifamily housing has…
A Tale of Two Towns: How Exclusionary Zoning Promotes Segregation
In another example of how zoning and housing might explain everything, exclusionary zoning policies can be linked to disparities in educational outcomes. A new report from the Century Foundation compares two towns in Westchester County, New York to examine how…
Do Investors Drive Up Housing Costs? Dutch Researchers say, “Nee.”
In order to promote homeownership and prevent investment companies from purchasing owner-occupied homes, the Netherlands enacted a law in 2022 that allows municipalities to ban investors from purchasing properties under a certain price cap if they had the intention of…
Clash of the Titans: When Housing and Environment Super-Statutes Collide
A newly published law review article by UC Davis’s Chris Elmendorf and attorney Tim Duncheon investigates the slow-motion collision between two statutes at the center of California’s housing crisis: the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the state’s Housing Accountability…
On Sale: Rental Housing, 25 to 50 Percent Off (Some Upzoning Required)
For years, housing advocates and policy experts have sought answers to a key question about land use reform: Does upzoning reduce housing costs? A new paper from Ryan Greenway-McGrevy at the University of Auckland Business School offers evidence that it…
The Keys to the Low-Carbon City: Pro-Housing Land Use Reform
Cities often overlook land use reforms as tools to reduce climate pollution, but such reforms are among the most highly-leveraged (and under-utilized) tools at the disposal of urban leaders. A new report from Holland, Subin, Kay et al at the…
California YIMBY Congratulates Assemblymember Robert Rivas (Salinas) on Inauguration as Assembly Speaker
Pro-Housing Champion Has Led on Vital Affordability Reforms SACRAMENTO – Today, California YIMBY issued the following statement on the inauguration of Assemblymember Robert Rivas (Salinas) as the 71st Speaker of the California State Assembly: “Robert Rivas has been a powerful champion…
REPORT — Los Angeles: The Dysfunctional Metropolis
June 27, 2023 — The process that the City of Los Angeles uses to approve multi-family housing proposals within its jurisdiction is a recipe for political corruption and high housing costs, and should be reformed to achieve broad housing affordability,…
Getting By on Reduced Supply: The Impact of Affordability Mandates
Housing prices in Seattle have soared as the city’s population has grown dramatically in recent decades. In response, policymakers in Seattle have implemented various strategies to try to increase housing affordability. One of these is the Mandatory Housing Affordability (MHA)…