The Urban Institute found that zoning reforms in Philadelphia and New York led to a boom in housing permits, especially when coupled with other policy and financial tools.
A new study from the Urban Institute shows that upzoning reforms in New York City and Philadelphia resulted in thousands of new housing permits, reports Ryan Kushner in Smart Cities Dive.
According to the study, "New York’s neighborhood-level upzoning resulted in 4,000 additional housing units within four years compared with its non-upzoned areas, while Philadelphia’s upzoned areas saw an estimated 4,000 more housing unit permits per year."
Development didn't happen evenly across all upzoned areas, indicating that zoning reforms alone are not sufficient. Upzoned areas that saw fewer new permits typically had "preexisting, weaker housing markets," according to the report. "As scholars have argued, zoning reform must be coupled with complementary policies that directly address affordability and displacement," the report adds.
Read the full story: These 2 cities enacted upzoning policies to boost housing development. It’s working, study says.
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