UCLA Housing Voice

In a previous episode we discussed Auckland’s unprecedented upzoning and its effect on housing production and land prices. This time we’re joined by Eleanor West to talk about the political, social, and economic conditions that made the reforms possible — not only in Auckland, but across New Zealand. Show notes: West, E. (2024). Up-zoning New Zealand: the localisation of a globally mobile policy i...

Inclusionary zoning policies are commonly used to produce affordable housing and “social mix” in the U.S., but what about in Europe, where public housing and strong social welfare programs have historically met those needs? Anna Granath Hansson shares research on emerging inclusionary housing policies in the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Show notes: Granath Hansson, A., Sø...

Inclusionary zoning policies use the market to produce affordable housing, but nothing comes for free. So who pays? Shane takes the guest seat to discuss his analysis of IZ in Los Angeles, making the case that it’s not developers or high-income renters who bear the cost, but all renters — poor, middle income, and wealthy alike. Show notes: Phillips, S. (2024). Modeling Inclusionary Zoning’s Impact...

Cities have lived with exclusionary zoning for decades, if not generations. Is inclusionary zoning the answer? Inclusionary zoning, or IZ, requires developers to set aside a share of units in new buildings for low- or moderate-income households, seeking to increase the supply of affordable homes and integrate neighborhoods racially and socioeconomically. But how well does it accomplish these goals...

We’ve long known that building more homes helps keep prices in check at the regional or metro area level, but what about the house down the street? Evan Mast shares two research studies that shed light on this important and controversial question. Originally aired in 2021. Updated show notes. Show notes: Mast, E. (2023). JUE Insight: The effect of new market-rate housing construction on the low-in...

Building taller lets us fit more homes on valuable urban land, but more homes doesn’t necessarily mean more affordable. Anthony Orlando joins to share his research on why taller isn’t always better — and the circumstances where it definitely is. Show notes: Eriksen, M. D., & Orlando, A. W. (2022). Returns to scale in residential construction: The marginal impact of building height. Real Estate...

Changing zoning rules to allow taller and denser buildings may cause land values to go up, and public officials may try to “capture” this added value by requiring affordable units in new developments. But what happens when costs and benefits are out of balance? Seattle offers a cautionary tale. Show notes: Krimmel, J., & Wang, B. (2023). Upzoning With Strings Attached: Evidence From Seattle’s...

When the demand for housing rises, which kinds of neighborhoods respond by building more homes, and which just get more expensive? Nathaniel Baum-Snow joins to discuss his research on the different responses of urban, suburban, and exurban neighborhoods, and the many forms “supply” can take. Show notes: Baum-Snow, N., & Han, L. (2024). The Microgeography of Housing Supply. Journal of Political...

We often talk about residential segregation by race or income, but we rarely explore it in the literal sense — as in segregation of residences: of one kind of housing from another. Ann Owens joins to discuss her research on how segregation manifests itself in our built environment in cities and neighborhoods across the U.S. Show notes: Owens, A. (2019). Building inequality: Housing segregation and...

Black households make up a disproportionate share of rent assistance recipients. Andrew Fenelon discusses how a “two-tiered approach to housing support" favoring white homeowners helped create the disparity. Show notes: Fenelon, A. (2024). Race, housing policy, and the demographic and spatial structure of modern housing programs: Who receives rental assistance and where do they live? Journal...

Before the 2000s, French real estate developers were prohibited from building social housing. Today, they build more than half of it. Julie Pollard shares how two seemingly unrelated policies came together to make this rapid shift possible. Show notes: Pollard, J. (2023). The political conditions of the rise of real-estate developers in French housing policies. Environment and Planning C: Politics...

In this episode, Shane combines insights from a recent trip to Tokyo with official data on housing production, affordability, land use policy, and more. Show notes: Twitter thread of photos and observations during my trip. Episode 16 of the UCLA Housing Voice Podcast with Jiro Yoshida, on Japanese Housing Policy Japanese population by prefecture. JR East Yamanote Line timetable. Mainichi article o...

Each year, more money is invested in China's housing market than any other. Lan Deng shares how the market was shaped and the heavy role the government still plays, and what housing in China looks like today. Show notes: Deng, L., & Chen, J. (2019). Market development, state intervention, and the dynamics of new housing investment in China. Journal of Urban Affairs, 41(2), 223-247. Deng,...

For this episode, we take a trip to Tokyo to learn from the successes and shortcomings of Japanese housing policy. Known for high rates of production — Tokyo builds five times more housing than California, per capita — and relatively affordable housing, Japan also struggles with poor maintenance and rapid degradation of its buildings. Professor Jiro Yoshida of Pennsylvania State University and the...

What makes people more or less supportive of dense housing in their communities? David Kaufmann and Michael Wicki surveyed 12,000 residents in six of the largest U.S. and European cities to find out. Show notes: Wicki, M., Hofer, K., & Kaufmann, D. (2022). Planning instruments enhance the acceptance of urban densification. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(38), e2201780119....

Subsidized affordable housing development reduces costs for lower-income households directly. It also reduces costs indirectly, by increasing the overall supply of housing — or does it? Michael Eriksen joins to discuss the issue of “crowd out” in affordable housing production. Show notes: Eriksen, M. D., & Rosenthal, S. S. (2010). Crowd out effects of place-based subsidized rental housing: New...

In this final installment of the Pathways Home series on homelessness policy and research, we discuss lessons and key takeaways from the previous seven episodes with our UCLA colleague, Janey Rountree. Show notes: Click here to find all eight episodes of the Pathways Home limited series on homelessness. Blackwell, B., & Santillano, R. (2023). Do Time-Limited Subsidy Programs Reduce Homelessnes...

Since 2009, homelessness among U.S. veterans has fallen by more than half. Among the overall population, it hasn’t budged. Monica Diaz and Shawn Liu of the Department of Veterans Affairs share some of the story behind the VA's success. Show notes: Read more about the VA Homeless Programs Office at their website. Khadduri, J., de Sousa, T., Andrichik, A., Prestera, E., Rush, K., Tano, C., and...

The Housing First approach starts with providing homes to chronically unhoused people, but it doesn’t stop there — and that’s what makes it so effective. Tim Aubry shares findings from a major Housing First study and the keys to a successful program. Show notes: Goering, P., Veldhuizen, S., Watson, A., Adair, C., Kopp, B., Latimer, E., Nelson, G., MacNaughton, E., Streiner, D., Rabouin, D., Ly, A....

What happens when you provide unhoused people with a large sum of money? Jiaying Zhao shares the results of a study in Vancouver, BC, which include reduced shelter use, more spending on food and rent, and no increase in spending on “temptation goods” like drugs and alcohol. Show notes: Dwyer, R., Palepu, A., Williams, C., Daly-Grafstein, D., & Zhao, J. (2023). Unconditional cash transfers redu...

“We have the resources, as a society, to prevent and end homelessness. And the knowledge.” Beth Shinn discusses the Family Options Study, which found that long-term housing subsidies, like housing vouchers, led to much better outcomes at similar cost compared to rapid rehousing, transitional housing, and “usual care.” Show notes: Gubits, D., Shinn, M., Wood, M., Bell, S., Dastrup, S., Solari, C.,...

In Los Angeles County, unhoused people living in cars, trucks, and RVs outnumber those in tents and makeshift shelters by 50%, yet vehicular homelessness receives relatively little attention. Many cities don’t even measure or report on it — at least not yet. The Lewis Center’s Madeline Brozen joins to discuss her research on the distinct demographics and experiences of unhoused people living out o...

Many people think they know about the lives of people experiencing homelessness, but those perceptions are often based on anecdote. Margot Kushel, MD joins us to talk about her work on the largest representative study of homelessness since the 1990s, and what it says about who experiences homelessness, why they become homeless, their experiences while living without housing, and barriers to re-ent...

Part one of Pathways Home, a six-part series on homelessness. Gregg Colburn, author of Homelessness is a Housing Problem, dispels myths about the causes of homelessness and identifies two key risk factors that explain why rates vary so much between cities: high rents and low vacancies. Show notes: Colburn, G., & Aldern, C. P. (2022). Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How structural factors ex...

The federal government passed the Fair Housing Act more than 50 years ago. In that time considerable progress has been made at reducing discrimination in the housing market, but the law’s mandate to “affirmatively further fair housing” and reverse patterns of segregation has been only lightly enforced. Katherine O’Regan of NYU, and formerly of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, jo...