UCLA Housing Voice

Supply skeptics don’t believe that building more homes improves affordability. Vicki Been tells us what the latest research says about their main arguments. Read about the Lewis Center's work at lewis.ucla.edu . Follow our Substack at uclahousingvoice.substack.com . Email Shane at at shanephillips@ucla.edu and follow him on Bluesky and LinkedIn . Show notes: Been, V., Ellen, I. G., & O’Re...

Transit agencies are using microtransit services to increase the reach and access of their overall service. We talk with Mike Hyland about how agencies can think about pricing and fleet sizing to balance cost and service. Also, how should agencies measure the overall success of their microtransit services? Show notes: Hyland, M., Saha, R., & Hu, S. (2026). Peak Pricing and Transfer Discounts C...

Does building housing near rail stations reduce driving, even if it prices out lower-income residents? Dan Chatman's research suggests the answer hinges not on who lives there, but on how much housing gets built.  Chatman, D. G., Xu, R., Park, J., & Spevack, A. (2019). Does Transit-Oriented Gentrification Increase Driving? Journal of Planning Education and Research, 39(4), 482-495. https:...

Part 3 of our book club series on Yoni Appelbaum's 'Stuck', covering chapters 9–10. Appelbaum himself joins us to wrap up the series.  Show notes: Appelbaum, Y. (2025). Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity . Penguin Random House. UCLA Housing Voice episode 112: ‘Stuck’ Book Club pt. 1 with Attorney General Rob Bonta. UCLA Housing Voic...

California created a definition for major transit stops in state code and ties this definition to a lot of housing policies. Jacob Wasserman and Aaron Barrall explore the different ways this definition could be interpreted and how different approaches could mean more or less land available for increased development.  Show notes: Wasserman, J.L., Barrall, A., Millard-Ball, A., and Lee, A. (2026) “S...

California passed a landmark law in 2022 prohibiting cities from mandating minimum parking requirements near major transit stops. Amy Lee explores how cities and developers have responded. Show Notes Lee, A., Millard-Ball, A., & Manville, M. (2025). State Preemption in Theory and Practice: The Case of Parking Requirements. Urban Affairs Review , 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/10780874251385240...

We're doing a three-part book club series on Yoni Appelbaum's 'Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity.' This is episode one, covering chapters 1 through 4.  In the second half of the show, California Attorney General Rob Bonta joins us to talk about connections between the book's themes and his work enforcing housing and immig...

We close out the Incentives Series with Lars Doucet offering a primer on land value taxes, the ultimate incentive-aligned housing policy. This is part 11 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Doucet, L. (2025). Land value return is needed, pragmatic, and achievable. Progress and Poverty [Substack]. Doucet, L. (2025). Enacting Land Value Return in Your Hometown. Prog...

We're joined by our co-authors to discuss a few Lewis Center studies on Measure ULA, a transfer tax in the city of Los Angeles, that made a big splash. This is part 10 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Manville, M., & Smith, M. (2025). The Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. Ward, J., & Phillips, S....

Enterprise Community Partners has been running a renter wealth-building program since 2022. How’s it going? And what comes next? Show notes: Enterprise Community Partners’ Renter Wealth Creation Fund website. The Renter Wealth Creation Fund term sheet. UCLA Housing Voice episode 108: Building Wealth by Renting with Shane Phillips and Bob Simpson. Phillips, S. (2025). Building Renter Wealth: An Eva...

Joined by a 20-year veteran of Fannie Mae, Shane shares findings from his work on a proposed new model for building renter wealth: shared prosperity rental housing. Show notes: Phillips, S. (2025). Building Renter Wealth: An Evaluation of Shared Prosperity Rental (SPR) Housing Program Design and Feasibility. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. Executive summary for the SPR report. Shane...

Fixed-rate mortgages are expensive, but adjustable-rate mortgages are volatile — but do they have to be? Kevin Erdmann pitches an alternative that captures the best qualities of both. This is part 9 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Erdmann, K. (2021). A Suggested Mortgage Amortization Structure: Fixed Amortization, Adjustable Principal. Mercatus Center. UCLA Ho...

This is the shortened "highlights" version of episode 106. You can listen to the full interview here . Was the housing market really oversupplied in the mid-2000s? Kevin Erdmann says no, and he explains how this misunderstanding is at the root of present-day affordability problems. This is part 8 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Erdmann, K. (2018). Ho...

Was the housing market really oversupplied in the mid-2000s? Kevin Erdmann says no, and he explains how this misunderstanding is at the root of present-day affordability problems. This is part 8 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Erdmann, K. (2018). Housing Was Undersupplied during the Great Housing Bubble. Mercatus Center. Erdmann, K. (2024). Getting Corporate M...

Shane makes a guest appearance on USC's Lusk Perspectives to talk state housing law, barriers to missing middle housing and condos, managing transportation systems in densifying cities, building wealth for tenants, and more. Show notes: Overview of 40 years of California ADU reform by the California Housing Defense Fund. State of Los Angeles County Housing and Neighborhoods. Neighborhood Data...

Why do many U.S. states build so few condos? Muhammad Alameldin explains the role of construction defect liability laws — and how to fix them. This is part 7 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Alameldin, M., & Karlinsky, S. (2024). Construction Defect Liability in California: How Reform Could Increase Affordable Homeownership Opportunities . UC Berkeley Terne...

In which types of homes are people safest from fires? Alex Horowitz shares research showing that multifamily is safer than single-family housing, newer homes are much safer than older homes, and that a single stairwell’s just as good as two. This is part 6 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Rodnyansky, S., Horowitz, A., Clifford, L., Su, D., Smith, S., & Triv...

We’ve been grappling with trade-offs between stricter building codes and declining affordability for over 100 years. Benjamin Schneider helps us trace the history. This is part 5 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Schneider, B. (2025). The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the City-Building Revolution. Island Press. Schneider, B. (2025 September 22). 106 Years Ago...

Your city just legalized “missing middle” housing in its zoning code… now what? With Memphis, Tennessee, as a case study, John Zeanah and Andre D. Jones discuss the hidden non-zoning barriers to developing small apartment buildings — and how to lower them. This is part 4 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Zeanah, J. (2025). Beyond Zoning: Hidden Code Barriers to...

The hosts gather to celebrate the 100th episode of UCLA Housing Voice. We also answer listener questions and announce the first book for our book club. Show notes: Appelbaum, Y. (2025). Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity. Penguin Random House. Appelbaum, Y. (2025 February 10). How Progressives Froze the American Dream. The Atlantic. Phillips, S. (...

North American buildings are built different — literally. Councilmember Jesse Zwick explains how the organization behind our unusual standards is built to fail, and he makes the case for a new approach. This is part 3 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy.  Show notes: Zwick, J. (2025). Out of Code: The Hidden Costs of US Building Standards. Episode 78 of UCLA Housing Voice, on...

Elevators in the U.S. and Canada cost 3–5 times as much as elevators in other high-income countries. Stephen Smith explains why and how our well-intentioned elevator standards make cities less safe and accessible. This is part two of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Show notes: Smith, S. (2024). Elevators. Center for Building in North America. Part 1 of the Incentives Series,...

This is the first episode of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy. Michael Eliason shares insights from his book, Building for People, on building code reforms and eco-district redevelopment projects throughout Europe. Show notes: Eliason, M. (2024). Building for People: Designing Livable, Affordable, Low-Carbon Communities. Island Press. Youtube video of Vauban, an eco-district i...

Housing vouchers provide critical assistance to low-income renters, but roughly 40% of vouchers go unused, in part due to difficulty finding landlords to accept them. Vincent Reina shares findings from a pilot program that instead gives cash assistance directly to tenants. Abstract:  This article examines a new rental assistance program in Philadelphia, called PHLHousing+, that disburses unconditi...