New Cityscape Reflects on Regulatory Reform and Affordable Housing

March 16, 2021  

New Cityscape Reflects on Regulatory Reform and Affordable Housing

The newest issue of Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research features a symposium examining Regulatory Reform and Affordable Housing. In 1991, HUD's Advisory Commission on Regulatory Barriers to Affordable Housing issued a report highlighting how land-use restrictions have worsened housing affordability, and since then, HUD has published additional research and information on regulatory barriers, their consequences, and strategies for reducing them. This issue was guest edited by Regina C. Gray and Mark A. Reardon.

Robert W. Wassmer and Joshua A. Williams analyze data from the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index to estimate the effects of a one-unit change in regulatory strictness on the price of land available for new residential construction in U.S. metropolitan areas. The authors determine that a one-unit decrease in regulatory stringency could reduce the price of new residential homes by about a fourth of the standard deviation observed in residential land prices across the U.S.

Mike Fratantoni, Edward Seiler, and Jamie Woodwell link land-use restrictions in the last decade and a half to the evolution in housing supply and affordability within a diverse set of metropolitan markets across the U.S. The authors posit that a within-metropolitan area analysis can control for important drivers of housing values to shed light on the impact of land-use regulations at a smaller scale.

Michael LaCour-Little and Weifeng Wu use the National Longitudinal Land Use Survey to evaluate how density control in the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas affects rent growth and home appreciation over time.

Alastair McFarlane, Janet Li, and Michael Hollar present an economic framework to evaluate the costs and benefits of building code regulations on housing markets, with particular attention to energy efficiency.

Linna Zhu, Evgeny Burinskiy, Jorge De la Roca, Richard K. Green, and Marlon G. Boarnet examine a 2016 local ballot measure in Los Angeles County, which created a new by-right inclusionary zoning program near transit. The authors determine that the program has led to almost as many building permits over its shorter life as the longstanding density bonus program.

Emily Hamilton estimates the effects of inclusionary zoning on market-rate house prices and building permits in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region, finding some evidence that inclusionary zoning increases house prices, but does not reduce new housing supply.

Refereed Papers

This issue of Cityscape includes one refereed paper.

Brian J. McCabe and M. Kathleen Moore investigate how public housing agencies navigate portability decisions in the Housing Choice Voucher program to increase use. The authors discuss the consequences of portability decisions, such as reduced administrative burdens and a limited ability to serve families on their waitlists, and conclude with policy recommendations.

Departments

Articles in Cityscape's regularly appearing departments include:

Data Shop: Musty Smells, Mold, and Moisture in the U.S. Housing Stock: Results from Two National Surveys by Veronica Eva Helms Garrison, Jacqueline Bachand, and Peter J. Ashley; Measuring Neighborhood Opportunity with Opportunity Atlas and Child Opportunity Index 2.0 Data by Brent D. Mast and Alexander Din.

Foreign Exchange: Balancing the Trade-off Between Urban Development and Preservation: Experience from South Korea by Seung-Hyun Ha and Allison Garland.

Graphic Detail: The Effect of COVID-19 on Income Among Households in HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program by Jacqueline Bachand; HUD Crosswalk Files Facilitate Multi-State Census Tract COVID-19 Spatial Analysis by Alexander Din and Ron Wilson; The Foster Youth to Independence Program in Oregon by Kirsten Ray.

Impact: Removal of the Ten-Year Home Warranty Requirement by Alastair McFarlane.

Policy Briefs: The Countercyclical Nature of the Federal Housing Administration in Multifamily Finance by Samuel D. Young, Erin K. Browne, and Patricia C. Moroz.

Evaluation Tradecraft: Participant Engagement Strategies in a Housing First Randomized Trial by Anh-Dao Tran, Molly Brown, and Camilla Cummings.

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