For Less Displacement, Build More Housing

New research finds lower displacement rates in neighborhoods with more new housing development. Slowing or stopping new development has the opposite of the desired effect, constricting housing supply, driving up rents, and displacing residents.

1 minute read

August 28, 2018, 2:00 PM PDT

By Todd Litman


Denver Rowhouses

Payton Chung / Flickr

An article by Joe Cortright makes that by preventing development, communities concerned about displacement exacerbate the problems they had hoped to avoid. New development, according to Cortright, s necessary to prevent displacement.  

"Slowing or stopping new development, particularly new housing development has exactly the opposite of the desired effect. It constricts the housing supply, drives up rents and fuels displacement."

"We’ve seen this time and again. A couple of months back, we profiled two Oakland neighborhoods, Uptown and Fruitvale. Both experienced almost identical increases in rents and home values as the Bay Area city boomed. But Fruitvale, which has built more housing has seen dramatically less demographic change, while Uptown which has built almost no new housing, has seen its population shift."

"The same holds for two neighborhoods in Washington DC’s 20003 zip code, Capitol Hill and the Navy Yard. Historic Capitol Hill has organized to largely block most new development; the Navy Yard area (near the new Washington Nationals ballpark) has seen thousands of new apartments built in the past decade. As Greater Greater Washington describes, the addition of new apartments has helped push down rents in the Navy Yard (the orange line) while rents in Capitol Hill (purple) continue to climb."

"If you don’t build new housing, you intensify the shortage, raise the rents, and amplify the displacement."

Tuesday, August 28, 2018 in City Observatory

portrait of professional woman

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 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 Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

US and Texas flags flying in front of Texas state capitol dome in Austin, Texas.

Texas Bills Could Push More People Into Homelessness

A proposal to speed up the eviction process and a bill that would accelerate enforcement of an existing camping ban could make the state’s homelessness crisis worse, advocates say.

15 minutes ago - The Texas Tribune

Person in yellow safety suit and white helmet kneels to examine water samples outdoors on a lake shore.

USGS Water Science Centers Targeted for Closure

If their work is suspended, states could lose a valuable resource for monitoring, understanding, and managing water resources.

1 hour ago - Inside Climate News

Close-up of white panel at top of school bus with "100% electric" black text.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation

California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

April 30 - California Air Resources Board