A new paper examines the impacts of broad economic trends—like inequality, job markets, and migration—on housing markets in the nation's major metropolitan areas.

New research suggests that income distribution—not population growth or land—is "the real factor driving growth in housing prices" in cities.
UCLA and London School of Economics Professor Michael Storper, a leading expert in urban and regional economics, is an author of the new study that brings national economic factors—like inequality, job markets, and migration—to bear on housing affordability. In an interview with The Planning Report, he unpacks the policy implications of his new research.
One finding of note: "Our analysis shows that blanket upzoning is likely to miss its affordability target," Storper tells TPR. "It will favor those who can pay the price of housing in high-demand areas … What it's not going to do is solve the housing crisis for the middle classes and lower-income people."
Because housing markets are so tied to the presence of high-paying jobs and high earners, simply upzoning "allows for market speculation to dominate," he says. "The market will naturally respond best in areas with the greatest returns on upzoning—mostly places with dense, white-collar employment where high-income people will want to live to be closer to their jobs." That, in turn, will lead to the displacement of lower-income populations in upzoned neighborhoods.
Rather than treating upzoning as a "lever" to move prices, researchers recommend that cities adopt specific policy interventions directly targeting affordability. Storper also suggests that U.S. cities look to other countries for a more successful model of public housing, noting, "When the public sector controls land, it has the ability to weigh in on the future of the city."
Read the full interview in The Planning Report.
FULL STORY: Blanket Upzoning—A Blunt Instrument—Won't Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis

Rethinking Redlining
For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units
Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

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

LA Falling Behind on Housing Goals
Last year, the city permitted just 30 percent of the number of housing units needed to meet a growing need.

Connecting Communities to Nature Close to Home
Los Angeles County’s Nature in Your Neighborhood program brings free, family-friendly wellness and nature activities to local parks, making it easier for residents to enjoy and connect with the outdoors.

Palmdale’s Beloved Water Park Gets $2 Million Upgrade
To mark its 20th anniversary, DryTown Water Park has undergone major renovations, ensuring that families across the Antelope Valley continue to enjoy safe, affordable, and much-needed water-based recreation in the high desert.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
City of Clovis
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions