UCLA Housing Voice

Inclusionary zoning policies are commonly used to produce affordable housing and “social mix” in the U.S., but what about in Europe, where public housing and strong social welfare programs have historically met those needs? Anna Granath Hansson shares research on emerging inclusionary housing policies in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.Show notes:Granath Hansson, A., Sørensen, J., Nordahl, B. I., & Tophøj Sørensen, M. (2024). Contrasting inclusionary housing initiatives in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway: how the past shapes the present. Housing Studies, 1-22.Previous episodes on inclusionary housing/inclusionary zoning:Episode 77: Upzoning With Strings Attached with Jacob Krimmel and Maxence ValentinEpisode 31: Inclusionary Zoning with Emily HamiltonEpisode 79: Who Pays For Inclusionary Zoning with Shane PhillipsMore information on the EU court case about Denmark’s “ghetto law.”Sightline article on Portland’s fully-funded affordability mandate.

Inclusionary zoning policies use the market to produce affordable housing, but nothing comes for free. So who pays? Shane takes the guest seat to discuss his analysis of IZ in Los Angeles, making the case that it’s not developers or high-income renters who bear the cost, but all renters — poor, middle income, and wealthy alike.Show notes:Phillips, S. (2024). Modeling Inclusionary Zoning’s Impact on Housing Production in Los Angeles: Tradeoffs and Policy Implications. UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation and UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. UCLA Housing Voice Episode 31: Inclusionary Zoning with Emily HamiltonManville, M., Monkkonen, P., Gray, N., & Phillips, S. (2023). Does Discretion Delay Development? The impact of approval pathways on multifamily housing’s time to permit. Journal of the American Planning Association, 89(3), 336-347.UCLA Housing Voice Episode 59: The Costs of Discretion with Paavo Monkkonen and Mike Manville (conversation about our research on the TOC approval process).Elmendorf, C. S., Marantz, N., & Monkkonen, P. (2021). A Review of California’s Process for Determining, and Accommodating, Regional Housing Needs. Background paper prepared for the California State Auditor.Wikipedia page on the Laffer curve.Phillips, S., & Ofek, M. (2022). How Will the Measure ULA Transfer Tax Initiative Impact Housing Production in Los Angeles? UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.UCLA Housing Voice Episode 77: Upzoning With Strings Attached with Jacob Krimmel and Maxence Valentin.Details on the reduction of inclusionary requirements approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on a 10–1 vote.UCLA Housing Voice Episode 78: Building Height and Construction Costs with Anthony Orlando.

Cities have lived with exclusionary zoning for decades, if not generations. Is inclusionary zoning the answer? Inclusionary zoning, or IZ, requires developers to set aside a share of units in new buildings for low- or moderate-income households, seeking to increase the supply of affordable homes and integrate neighborhoods racially and socioeconomically. But how well does it accomplish these goals? This week we’re joined by the Mercatus Center’s Dr. Emily Hamilton to discuss her research on how IZ programs have impacted homebuilding and housing prices in the Washington, D.C. region, and the ironic reality that the success of inclusionary zoning relies on the continued existence of exclusionary zoning. Also, Shane and Mike rant about nexus studies. Originally aired in 2022.Show notes:Hamilton, E. (2021). Inclusionary zoning and housing market outcomes. Cityscape, 23(1), 161-194.Manville, M., & Osman, T. (2017). Motivations for growth revolts: Discretion and pretext as sources of development conflict. City & Community, 16(1), 66-85.Bento, A., Lowe, S., Knaap, G. J., & Chakraborty, A. (2009). Housing market effects of inclusionary zoning. Cityscape, 7-26.Li, F., & Guo, Z. (2022). How Does an Expansion of Mandatory Inclusionary Housing Affect Housing Supply? Evidence From London (UK). Journal of the American Planning Association, 88(1), 83-96.Schleicher, D. (2012). City unplanning. Yale Law Journal, 7(122), 1670-1737.Phillips, S. (2022). Building Up the" Zoning Buffer": Using Broad Upzones to Increase Housing Capacity Without Increasing Land Values. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.Background on the inclusionary zoning program in Los Angeles (struck down in court, but later enabled by the state legislature).More on housing voucher policy in our interview with Rob Collinson.More on minimum lot size reform in our interview with M. Nolan Gray.A blog post questioning whether new market-rate housing actually “creates” demand for low-income housing.Los Angeles Affordable Housing Linkage Fee nexus study.

We’ve long known that building more homes helps keep prices in check at the regional or metro area level, but what about the house down the street? Evan Mast shares two research studies that shed light on this important and controversial question. Originally aired in 2021. Updated show notes.Show notes:Mast, E. (2023). JUE Insight: The effect of new market-rate housing construction on the low-income housing market. Journal of Urban Economics, 133, 103383.Asquith, B. J., Mast, E., & Reed, D. (2023). Local effects of large new apartment buildings in low-income areas. Review of Economics and Statistics, 105(2), 359-375.Bratu, C., Harjunen, O., & Saarimaa, T. (2023). JUE Insight: City-wide effects of new housing supply: Evidence from moving chains. Journal of Urban Economics, 133, 103528.Li, X. (2022). Do new housing units in your backyard raise your rents? Journal of Economic Geography, 22(6), 1309-1352.Guerrieri, V., Hartley, D., & Hurst, E. (2013). Endogenous gentrification and housing price dynamics. Journal of Public Economics, 100, 45-60.Phillips, S., Manville, M., & Lens, M. (2021). Research Roundup: The Effect of Market-Rate Development on Neighborhood Rents. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.Diamond, R., McQuade, T., & Qian, F. (2019). The effects of rent control expansion on tenants, landlords, and inequality: Evidence from San Francisco. American Economic Review, 109(9), 3365-94.Liu, L., McManus, D. A., & Yannopoulos, E. (2020). Geographic and Temporal Variation in Housing Filtering Rates. Available at SSRN.“Opportunities and Obstacles for Rental Housing Registries,” Jan. 20 Lewis Center event with Assembly member Buffy Wicks and Catherine Bracy. https://youtu.be/vaDTWHxk-I8