News and Commentary
Niskanen Senior Regulatory Fellow David Schleicher joined a Mercatus Center podcast highlighting labor mobility and housing supply.
Will Stancil reviews the success and surprising ease of the Twin Cities’ Metropolitan Council in placing affordable housing in suburbs during the 70’s for the Minnesota Reformer. Declining political will eroded that success over time.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board shares its view that despite the opposition of President Trump and Democrats in Congress, The Federal Housing Finance Agency is correct to attempt to mitigate mortgage refinancing risk. In August, the agency approved a 0.5 percentage-point surcharge on refinanced mortgages purchased by Fannie May and Freddie Mac.
Michael Anderson of the Sightline Institute writes an article praising Portland’s low-density zoning reform. The city legalized up to four homes on nearly all residential lots (up to six if half are available to low-income residents), removed parking mandates from three quarters of residential property, and made driveways optional for all residential property.
Jeff Andrews of Curbed describes Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben Carson’s attempts to slash his department’s budgets, remove its regulations, and eliminate its protections.
Katy O’Donnell reports for Politico on President Trump’s suburban switch: decrying low-income housing in suburban neighborhoods after just last year wanting to construct high density apartment buildings and lower the cost of housing.
Debra Kamin covers the appraisal discrimination facing black homeowners for the New York Times. The issue appears for both individual black owned homes and entire black neighborhoods.
National Association of Home Builders Chairman Chuck Fowke expresses support for President Trump and Ben Carson’s hesitance to allow the Federal Government to control land-use regulations, suggesting that local regulators should lower regulations in a Wall Street Journal opinion letter.
A Greater Greater Washington piece by Emily Hamilton explains why demand for high-rise housing in Tysons, Virginia is increasing. The author critiques outdated concepts of “single-family zoning,” claiming that high-rises can support families well and lower housing costs.
The Ballard Spahr Zoning and Land Use Team documents the COVID-19 pandemic’s implications for Philadelphia land-use regulation in JDSupra.
New Research
The Mercatus Center at George Mason University published a policy brief on Houston’s land-use regulation. The city does not have any zoning laws, instead having a minimum lot size for single family homes, which was substantially reduced in 1998. That reduction bolstered development, particularly in middle-income neighborhoods.
Michela Zonta authored a Center for American Progress report recommending Federal transportation and affordable housing investment conditioned on state metropolitan land trust and equitable transit-oriented development creation.
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