Four Steps to More Affordable Housing in San Diego (and Elsewhere)

San Diego is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country and has the fourth highest homeless population. Planning activist Murtaza Baxamusa identifies four needed measures.

1 minute read

January 31, 2018, 1:00 PM PST

By wadams92101


Uptown San Diego

Brett VA / Flickr

One of the strongest tools to make housing more affordable in California is inclusionary housing policies and ordinances. Inclusionary housing laws require developments, as a condition of permitting, to contain a certain quantity of affordable units.  HUD, state, and local regulations define "affordable." Explains planning activist Murtaza Baxamusa: 

Since inclusionary zoning programs do not require direct subsidy dollars to create affordable homes and rentals, they are a market-based solution for affordable housing, according to Fannie Mae [pdf]. Inclusionary zoning ordinances are most effective in strong markets with optimum development incentives, and they are able to produce affordable housing that would not otherwise be built, according to the Urban Land Institute. Over 170 thousand affordable apartments and homes have been created through inclusionary programs nationally, according to an estimate by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy [pdf].

Inclusionary housing ordinances, and particularly the principle behind them, have been upheld by the California Supreme Court. Additionally, a recent state law makes rental housing subject to inclusionary housing ordinances. However, some cities, like San Diego, have under-performing inclusionary housing ordinances. Baxamusa identifies four fixes to make inclusionary housing ordinances work. Please see the source article for more details.  

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 in UrbDeZine

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

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

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

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.