City Unplanning
Generations of scholarship on the political economy of land use have tried to explain a world in which tony suburbs use zoning to keep out development but big cities allow [...]
Japanese Zoning
This might be the single most interesting characteristic of Japanese zoning that differentiates it from zoning in North America. Here, cities are essentially the sole masters of their zoning, they [...]
Preserving History or Hindering Growth? The Heterogeneous Effects of Historic Districts on Local Housing Markets in New York City
Since Brooklyn Heights was designated as New York City's first landmarked neighborhood in 1965, the Landmarks Preservation Commission has designated 120 historic neighborhoods in the city. This paper develops a [...]
Mapping Opportunity: A Critical Assessment
A renewed interest has emerged on spatial opportunity structures and their role in shaping housing policy, community development, and equity planning. To this end, many have tried to quantify the [...]
Affordable Housing Needs Assessment: Phase I
This report is the first part of an affordable housing needs assessment for the DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. We examined the District of [...]
Land-Use Restrictions and Other Barriers to Growth
Housing supply in desirable areas is being prevented by regulatory, not natural, barriers. Over the past half century, the United States has gone through a property rights revolution. In the [...]
Building a Vibrant Economy in Washington, DC: Challenges and Choices for the New Mayor
Washington, DC, has gained much from its unique position as the capital of the United States, but it has not fully harnessed its opportunities for equitable and resilient economic growth. [...]
Why Do Cities Matter? Local Growth and Aggregate Growth
We study how growth of cities determines the growth of nations. Using a spatial equilibrium model and data on 220 US metropolitan areas from 1964 to 2009, we first estimate [...]
Planning an Affordable City
America faces a housing affordability crisis in its most economically dynamic cities, including metropolises like New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Boston where prices are rising faster than [...]
How Land-Use Regulation Undermines Affordable Housing
To varying degrees, most municipalities regulate urban development with zoning, density restrictions, and parking requirements. Such policies restrict the housing supply and urban density relative to what it could be [...]