Although the political optics are hard to see, Daniel Hertz argues that policies like inclusionary zoning need to be strengthened by orders of magnitude to have more than a token impact on housing affordability.
Few will argue with Daniel Hertz's basic premise: that major American cities face an affordability crisis with wide-ranging effects on economic mobility, race relations, homelessness, and our very conception of what urban life means. Hertz makes the case that current policies to encourage affordable development, while admirable, are embarrassingly under-powered.
In the face of massive deficits in the availability of affordable housing—for the middle as well as lower classes—"IZ needs to be reframed as not a centerpiece, but a minor part of an affordable housing agenda that actually serves everyone who needs help." That agenda might include measures like direct taxes on rising residential property values (to combat speculation) and funding Housing Choice Vouchers by dropping mortgage interest tax deductions for high-income homeowners.
Hertz concludes, "There is no way to argue that inclusionary zoning is coming close to meeting the demand for below-market housing—or, importantly, that it will ever be able to do so. A hundred and forty [affordable] units per year in San Francisco is not off by ten percent, or fifty percent, or even just one order of magnitude [...] The fact that IZ may be on the edge of what is politically possible today should not blind us to the fact that the cities and neighborhoods we envision require vastly more ambition."
FULL STORY: Inclusionary zoning has a scale problem
Bay Area Planners Acknowledge the Need for Regional Housing Solutions
While most Bay Area communities are pursuing housing solutions "individually," local planners acknowledge the need for strategies that address the regional as a unified whole.
San Francisco Housing Construction Far Slower Than Other Tech Hubs
Experts blame high land and construction costs and restrictive regulations for San Francisco’s dismal rate of housing construction, which lags behind other fast-growing cities like Austin and Seattle.
San Francisco to Reconsider Inclusionary Zoning as Development Slows to a Crawl
Critics of inclusionary zoning frequently point to San Francisco as an example of what not to do. A sluggish year of development has some local politicians ready to reconsider the city’s program.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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