A Playbook for Supply-Side Housing Affordability Solutions

The word YIMBY isn't used in the McKinsey Global Institute's new supply-side toolkit for housing affordability, but YIMBYs will like this it anyway.

1 minute read

October 15, 2017, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


British Rowhouses

Damian Gadal / Flickr

Jonathan Woetzel, Sangeeth Ram, Shannon Peloquin, and Jan Mischke have created a supply-side toolkit for cities looking to combat skyrocketing housing prices. The work accepts the argument that at the heart of the current housing crisis is an "extreme imbalance in supply and demand." In effect, "[p]opulation growth, the continuing trend toward urbanization, and rising global incomes are all fueling steady demand increases," according to the article that announces the new toolkit.

The supply-side toolkit that follows addresses "three challenges that all cities have in common: making land available, removing barriers, and making the construction sector more productive." a list of specific recommendations follows each of those three focus areas. The full report, "Housing Affordability: A Supply-Side Toolkit for Cities" [pdf], is available online.

Thursday, October 12, 2017 in McKinsey & Company

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

4 hours ago - Zachary Whalen

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

People boarding a bus on Maryland's Orange Route.

Baltimore to break ground on $50 million Transit Priority Project

The project will bring faster bus trips, safer streets and better bike connections to Baltimore.

45 minutes ago - Mass Transit

A brick building with a circular sign with the Airbnb logo hanging off of it.

Airbnb launches $250 million 'last-dollar financing' housing accelerator, makes first investment in Austin

The company will put $6.4 million towards affordable housing development in Texas’ capital.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

One side of the image shows a Chicago bus stop without a bench, the second image shows the bus stop with a yellow and blue bench.

Guerilla urbanists are building DIY bus stop benches in Chicago

A before-and-after of one of the bus stops with a new bench. The new benches are not officially sanctioned or permitted, but the residents who placed them hope they will be the start of a network of DIY benches across the city.

2 hours ago - Block Club Chicago

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.