Housing
Cities are dynamic centers of exchange, innovation, and economic growth, providing the platform where people, ideas, and capital come together. However, the regulations that limit urban development reduce the potential for income mobility and rising standards of living over time. Mercatus research shows how land-use policy reform can reverse the stagnation in our cities and address the systemic problem of housing affordability.
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Latest work in Housing
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- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Accessory Dwelling Units Can Help Unlock Housing Affordability in Colorado
Colorado House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government Committee, HB24-1152, Accessory Dwelling Units
- | Housing Housing
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
After Milton Referendum, Housing Advocates Sift Through Optimism and Pessimism | WBUR
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Milton’s Zoning Referendum | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Legalizing ADUs and Duplexes Can Help Unlock Housing Affordability in New Hampshire
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Infill Housing Has Its Benefits but Won't Always Drive Down Costs | Governing
- | Housing Housing
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Urban Planning and Cities | The Great Antidote
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Expanding Maryland’s Housing Stock: A Roadmap to Meeting Housing Targets
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Vancouver’s Housing Challenges Are a Cautionary Tale for Successful, Well-managed Cities | Discourse
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Duplex Reform Would Assist Housing Affordability in Nebraska
Nebraska Urban Affairs Committee | LB 1165, Provide requirements for zoning regulations and duplex housing
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
ADU Reform Would Assist Housing Affordability in Nebraska
Nebraska Urban Affairs Committee | LB 1166, Provide requirements for zoning regulations and accessory dwelling units
- | Housing Housing
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Are Tiny Homes Possible Solution in the Affordable Housing Crisis? | WOSU
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Lifting Onerous Occupancy Requirements Can Help Unlock Housing Affordability
New Hampshire House Municipal and County Government Committee House Bill 1281, Relative to zoning restrictions on residential rental property
- | Housing Housing
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Housing Affordability: Trends, Shocks, and State Legislation
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
How to Streamline Housing Permitting in Connecticut
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
How to Streamline Housing Permitting in Virginia
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Houston as an Affordability Model | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Hamilton Response to Questions for the Record
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
[UPDATED] Resources for Reformers: Houston’s Minimum Lot Sizes | Market Urbanism
Latest work in Housing
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Accessory Dwelling Units Can Help Unlock Housing Affordability in Colorado
Colorado House Transportation, Housing, and Local Government Committee, HB24-1152, Accessory Dwelling Units
- | Housing Housing
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
After Milton Referendum, Housing Advocates Sift Through Optimism and Pessimism | WBUR
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Milton’s Zoning Referendum | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Legalizing ADUs and Duplexes Can Help Unlock Housing Affordability in New Hampshire
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Infill Housing Has Its Benefits but Won't Always Drive Down Costs | Governing
- | Housing Housing
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Urban Planning and Cities | The Great Antidote
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Expanding Maryland’s Housing Stock: A Roadmap to Meeting Housing Targets
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Vancouver’s Housing Challenges Are a Cautionary Tale for Successful, Well-managed Cities | Discourse
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Duplex Reform Would Assist Housing Affordability in Nebraska
Nebraska Urban Affairs Committee | LB 1165, Provide requirements for zoning regulations and duplex housing
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
ADU Reform Would Assist Housing Affordability in Nebraska
Nebraska Urban Affairs Committee | LB 1166, Provide requirements for zoning regulations and accessory dwelling units
- | Housing Housing
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Are Tiny Homes Possible Solution in the Affordable Housing Crisis? | WOSU
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Lifting Onerous Occupancy Requirements Can Help Unlock Housing Affordability
New Hampshire House Municipal and County Government Committee House Bill 1281, Relative to zoning restrictions on residential rental property
- | Housing Housing
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Housing Affordability: Trends, Shocks, and State Legislation
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
How to Streamline Housing Permitting in Connecticut
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
How to Streamline Housing Permitting in Virginia
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Houston as an Affordability Model | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Hamilton Response to Questions for the Record
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
[UPDATED] Resources for Reformers: Houston’s Minimum Lot Sizes | Market Urbanism
Latest work in Housing
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Amazon HQ2 Is the Only Competition Where the Losers Are Winners
Why Economic Development Subsidies Hurt More than They Help
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Hemp in the United States
A Case Study of Regulatory Path Dependence
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Does Land Development Pay for Itself?
A Critique of Cost-of-Community-Service Studies
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The California Rule and Its Potential Abolition
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
State Fiscal Rankings | 2018 Edition
Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Prairie Prosperity: An Economic Guide for the State of North Dakota
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Effective Regulatory Reform
What the United States can Learn from British Columbia
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The New Jersey Pension Crisis
Flailing in Deep Waters
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Fixing American Infrastructure
Unleash Market Forces and Promote Devolution
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Highway Infrastructure
Issues Concerning Private-Sector Participation
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Role of the Private Sector in the Management of Highways
A Primer on Public-Private Partnerships
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Regulator Discretion at the State Level
The Case of Arizona
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Cutting Red Tape in the Garden State
New Jersey’s Regulatory Reform Program under Governor Chris Christie
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Using Fiscal Ratios to Predict Local Fiscal Distress
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
California’s Density Deficit and the Likely Impact of SB 827
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
California Can Improve Housing and Transit by Preempting Local Ordinances
![fed-4-cover.png](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/fed-4-cover.png?itok=3eKX0yS5)
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Principles for Constructing a State Economic Analysis Unit
- | Corporate Welfare Corporate Welfare
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Targeted Economic Incentives
An Analysis of State Fiscal Policy and Regulatory Conditions
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Land Use and Homesharing Regulation
A Call for State Preemption
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
The Premium for Walkable Development under Land Use Regulations
Latest work in Housing
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Last Utopia: The 15-Minute City | Urban Reform Institute
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Housing Revolution Brewing in 2023 | The Hill
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Are the New Carbon Footprint Maps Accurate? | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Forgotten Neighborhood | The Dispatch
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Zoning Reform Backfires | EconLib
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Rent Control is How the Rich Outbid Less-affluent People for Valuable Land | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Big is the Housing Shortage? | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What Critics of Diversifying Arlington’s Housing get Wrong | The Washington Post
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Abolish Zoning–All of It | Reason
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Colorado Moves the Ball on Housing Affordability Reform—Will Other States Pick It Up?
How the Centennial State’s encouraging new policy works and why other states can build off of it to lower their own housing costs.
![gettyimages-508568122.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/gettyimages-508568122.jpg?itok=lRZre6Y6)
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Unpacking Emergent Tokyo with author Jorge Almazán | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Housing Costs in Michigan Are Skyrocketing. Is There Hope on the Horizon? | The Detroit News
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
To Fix Its Housing Crisis, California Must Unleash the Duplex | Bloomberg CityLab
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Case Studies on Smart Zoning Reforms, Part Four: Removing Parking Requirements in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo illustrates how removing minimum parking requirements can increase housing availability, optimize land use, and make walkable development possible.
![gettyimages-1276558889.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/gettyimages-1276558889.jpg?itok=iXwTd3UY)
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Case Studies on Smart Zoning Reforms, Part Three: Tysons, Virginia’s Transit-Friendly Development
Fairfax County, VA. policymakers set out to permit more high-rise multifamily housing on what was formerly land zoned only for commercial uses -- and it’s paying off.
![gettyimages-74063719.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/gettyimages-74063719.jpg?itok=w7ywfefE)
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Case Studies on Smart Zoning Reforms, Part Two: Portland, Oregon’s Accessory Dwelling Units
Portland, Oregon is an instructive example of how smart reform to accessory dwelling unit construction can increase housing availability, provide greater lifestyle flexibility, and reduce the environmental impact of home construction.
![gettyimages-1146452131.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/gettyimages-1146452131.jpg?itok=j2hK2_-2)
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Light Touch Density: A Series of Policy Briefs on Zoning, Land Use, and a Solution to the Nation’s Housing Shortage
Published by the American Enterprise Institute
![aei_book.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/aei_book.jpg?itok=38f5fC4e)
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Cities Can Solve Their Office Crisis and Housing Affordability in One Go
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Reconciliation Bill’s “Zoning Reform” Provision Is Empty Spending
![gettyimages-1005393996.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/coh_small_height/public/d7/gettyimages-1005393996_1.jpg?itok=PyASehzM)
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Cities Need a Building Boom To Avoid a Housing Bubble
We need to let housing construction be cyclical again and should embrace more lenient urban land use administration. Some cities are considering this now.