May 7, 2024
How Zoning Policies Affect the Housing Supply: City of Denver Case Study
Summary:The City of Denver switched to a new zoning code in June 2010. Most areas were upzoned, but some were downzoned. Overall, the policy encouraged housing construction in Denver. Slide deck
May 6, 2024
Comments on the One Seattle Plan (Comp Plan)
Summary:1) Seattle has been underbuilding for the last decade (and likely even longer) and it needs to build more housing than the targets set in the comp plan.2) Seattle can legalize the building of more housing by embracing the lessons of its past and expanding on them. During the 1990s, Seattle upzoned parts of the…
April 8, 2024
Accountability Comes to Public Housing
With little fanfare, the impossible just happened at the Hope Gardens public housing project in Bushwick: the management got fired. Repairs to the project’s high rises and townhouses had been delayed, and, per an official notice, “cost-saving measures to curb ballooning controllable operating expenses” hadn’t been adopted. Such lack of foresight constitutes a typical day…
March 27, 2024
Market-oriented Reform Principles and Policies that Would Help the Housing Market
Introduction: In this election year, Congress and the President are feeling the urge to help Americans affected by rising housing affordability pressures across the country. With the status-quo untenable, Congress and the President are itching to address housing affordability, availability, and other community needs. Before springing into action, our leaders need to first establish clear…
March 21, 2024
It’s Not Just Minority Neighborhoods—NYC’s Entire Property-Tax System Needs Reform
There is good reason to conclude, as the state Court of Appeals did Tuesday, that New York City’s property-tax system leads to disproportionately high tax bills for minority homeowners. But those high taxes aren’t the result of discrimination; they’re just one example of a dysfunctional tax-assessment system that burdens homeowners and discourages new housing construction —…
March 15, 2024
Housing Abundance with Light-Touch Density
Executive Summary: The following presentation on “Communication with Policymakers and Media – For the Win!” was presented at YIMBYtown 2024, covering how Light-touch Density is the key to achieving housing abundance. Light-touch Density, which involves moderately increasing density in areas zoned exclusively for single-family detached homes, can tailored be to the context of specific localities….
March 14, 2024
A Crucial Fix For Rent Regulation
Housing legislation has moved to center stage in Albany, with proposals to provide aid for everything from granny flats to new, subsidized construction on the table. But one especially surprising, common-sense change in the state’s rent regulation appears to be attracting bipartisan support. A state Senate plan would permit up to 6% rent increases following major capital…
March 8, 2024
State of the Union – Biden’s Housing Proposals Would be Harmful, Not Helpful
President Biden in his State of the Union pitched a raft of proposals with the stated purpose of lowering costs for homebuyers and increasing the supply of rental units. As has been the case with dozens of housing acts passed by Congress over the last 75 years, hold onto your wallet when the federal government says it…
February 23, 2024
After Milton’s MBTA Housing Defeat, The Way Forward Is With Persuasion, Not Mandates
It’s difficult to avoid seeing Milton’s referendum defeat of a proposed zoning law to permit higher-density housing construction as a signal setback for the state’s effort to pressure towns to make housing more affordable. There’s no getting around the importance of that effort. High housing prices not only burden current Bay State residents but act as a…