The HomeWork: November 23, 2020
Welcome to the November 23, 2020 Main edition of The HomeWork, the official newsletter of California YIMBY — legislative updates, news clips, housing research and analysis, and the latest writings from the California YIMBY team.
Legislators are returning to Sacramento on December 7th to be sworn in for the new session. They will spend their first day performing largely ceremonial functions, but some early bills will be introduced. The Legislature will then recess until January, when the real work will begin.
In the meantime, if you have an idea for a YIMBY law, please reach out to Louis Mirante at louis@cayimby.org
Thanks everyone for your support this year!
New Market-Rate Housing Reduces Rents in the Neighborhood
A new working paper from UC Berkeley Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics PhD candidate Kate Pennington offers compelling evidence that new market-rate housing in San Francisco reduced rents for existing residents while providing more amenities in the neighborhood. The results are preliminary and have yet to be peer reviewed, but provide another data point in our understanding of the relationship between new housing supply and current neighborhood conditions, rents, and economic development.
The key takeaways:
- Within 100 meters of randomly located new construction in San Francisco, rents fell by 2% on average; the risk of displacement for current renters fell by 17%.
- At the same time, parcels of land within 100 meters of new construction are 29.5% more likely to experience an increase in higher-income residents. Home renovations and business turnover also increase within this zone.
READ MORE »
How Compact Housing Development Can Help Solve Climate Change
A new report from Transportation for America (T4A) and Smart Growth America presents a compelling case for changing our land-use policies, including our housing policies, to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and build a more sustainable future. The core of the case: Climate change can’t be solved with electric cars alone. We have to reduce demand for cars by building communities that don’t need them in the first place.
The key takeaways:
- Transportation is the single largest source of carbon pollution in the United States, and it’s growing, due in large part to more people driving longer distances in larger cars.
- Even under the most optimistic projections, electric vehicles will not replace gasoline cars fast enough to meet the emissions reductions targets we must achieve to prevent dangerous climate change.
- More compact communities that encourage walking, cycling, and transit — even in small communities and suburbs — can help reduce emissions from transportation.
READ MORE »
- Los Angeles is ready for single-family zoning reform
- Single-Family Zoning Laws in California Hold Back People of Color
- COVID-19 pandemic has heightened housing crisis in Monterey County
- Study: We Can’t Fix Transportation-Related Climate Emissions With EVs Alone
- Can a Stalled Train to Las Vegas Speed Housing Construction in California?
- Wildfire smoke is disproportionately affecting poorer communities
- Marin’s Estimated Housing Quotas Are Off The Chart!
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