Salim Furth
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Senior Research Fellow
Salim Furth is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Urbanity project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research focuses on housing production and land use regulation. He frequently advises local governments and testifies before state and federal legislatures. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester.
Furth previously worked at the Heritage Foundation, at Amherst College, and as a contractor to HUD. His research has been published in Housing Policy Debate, Critical Housing Analysis, and the IZA Journal of Labor Policy. He serves as an advisor to the board of Texans for Reasonable Solutions and a Better Cities Project Fellow.
Featured Research
"Single-Family Zoning and Race: Evidence From the Twin Cities." Published in Housing Policy Debate.
"California Zoning: Housing Construction and a New Ranking of Local Land Use Regulation." (Salim Furth & Olivia Gonzalez)
Latest Work
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Interrogating the Strong Towns “Ponzi Scheme” | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Mumbai Upzoning | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Responsive Cities in the Arena: Brazil Floods | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Market Affordable | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How “Inclusionary” Are Market-rate Rentals? | Metropolitan Abundance Project
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
No Solutions, Just Trade Offs | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Transit-Oriented Upzoning in Colorado Can Deliver Jobs, Growth, and Affordability
- | Housing Housing
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Shifts in the Housing Market & the YIMBY Movement | Manhattan Institute’s “Manhattan Insights”
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Sudden Death of the American Condo | Market Urbanism
Latest Work
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Interrogating the Strong Towns “Ponzi Scheme” | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Mumbai Upzoning | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Responsive Cities in the Arena: Brazil Floods | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Market Affordable | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How “Inclusionary” Are Market-rate Rentals? | Metropolitan Abundance Project
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
No Solutions, Just Trade Offs | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Transit-Oriented Upzoning in Colorado Can Deliver Jobs, Growth, and Affordability
- | Housing Housing
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Shifts in the Housing Market & the YIMBY Movement | Manhattan Institute’s “Manhattan Insights”
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Sudden Death of the American Condo | Market Urbanism
Latest Work
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
New Urban Econ Research Shows the Macroeconomic Benefits of Big Cities
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Conducting the 2020 Census under Risk of Contagion
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
California Can Improve Housing and Transit by Preempting Local Ordinances
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
California Zoning: Housing Construction and a New Ranking of Local Land Use Regulation

- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Development Dividends: Sharing Equity to Overcome Opposition to Housing
- | Housing Housing
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Do Minimum-Lot-Size Regulations Limit Housing Supply in Texas?
- | Housing Housing
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
The Link Between Local Zoning Policy and Housing Affordability in America’s Cities
- | Housing Housing
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Housing Supply in the 2010s
- | 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

Latest Work
Latest Work
Latest Work
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Milton’s Zoning Referendum | Market Urbanism
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Is Policy Writing a Newscast or an Advertisement? | Discourse
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
[UPDATED] Resources for Reformers: Houston’s Minimum Lot Sizes | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Hopefully, AI Will Create a Perpetual Housing Crisis | Market Urbanism
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
What the YIMBY Winning Streak Means | Bloomberg CityLab
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
An Autopsy of Hsieh & Moretti | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Pedestrianized Streets Usually Fail – and That’s Ok | Market Urbanism
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary