Rick Jacobus of the Cornerstone Partnership reviewed the Rand Corporation Report "Is Inclusionary Zoning Inclusionary?" in a web exclusive posted to Shelterforce a few days ago. In it, Jacobus discusses the findings of the research, particularly that affordable housing units produced through inclusionary ordinances were located in low-poverty neighborhoods (average unit was in a neighborhood with only 7% of households in poverty).
The placement of the units in low-poverty neighborhoods is important because higher income neighborhoods often have better schools. Having ordinances in place alone, however, is not enough to produce these positive results. Jacobus highlights that design and implementation play a role, along with increased funding to track data from these programs.
