Actions Cities Can Take to Improve Housing Affordability
Housing unaffordability, a pressing nationwide issue, is within the realm of local leaders to tackle. With a multitude of policy levers at their disposal, they hold the power to increase the supply of homes and improve housing affordability. Here are ten actionable steps that local leaders can take, empowering them to assist our constituents grappling with high housing costs.
Legalize more apartment units.
Many American cities make it illegal to build anything other than a single-family, detached home on over 75% of land zoned for residential use, severely restricting efforts to increase the supply of affordable housing. Often, higher-income neighbourhoods are disproportionately zoned for single-family homes, preventing low- and middle-income families from living in communities with more economic opportunities. While rolling back single-family zoning is one of the highest-profile policies proposed to enhance affordability, early evidence from Minneapolis, which eliminated single-family zoning, indicates that such measures alone are insufficient. Cities can also address other potentially restrictive policies, including minimum lot size requirements, density limits, and prohibitions against mixed-use developments (apartments in commercial zones) to build affordable housing at scale quickly.
Legalize accessory dwelling units
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are independent residences on the same lot as a single-family house, often in basements or above garages. ADUs are typically affordable units that diversify a city’s housing stock and efficiently use already-existing homes. ADUs can be a win-win for tenants and property owners, providing affordable rental units and benefits to homeowners—including generating income from an existing asset and adding flexibility in family living arrangements. Seattle, WA, Princeton, N.J., and Washington, D.C., have already relaxed zoning ordinances to allow more ADUs. Los Angeles recently announced a city-wide ADU plan to combat its affordable housing crisis.
Eliminate or reduce parking requirements.
Cities often require new buildings in a designated zone to have a certain number of designated parking spaces based on projected occupancy. Research has made clear that parking is frequently oversupplied, with one study of six New England municipal centers, for example, finding that the mandated amount of parking was, on average, two-and-a-half times more than demand at peak times. Parking minimums are also costly; building a single parking space adds an average of $50,000 in costs per housing unit in some metropolitan areas—and much more in others—with underground parking being costly. Dozens of cities have reduced or eliminated parking minimums with positive results. For example, one study found that removing parking minimums in Los Angeles led developers to build more homes and convert old buildings into housing, helping to stimulate neighborhood revitalization.
