With just six percent of US land developed, zoning laws should reflect community needs, writes Samuel R. Staley.
When we talk about the sky-rocketing housing prices of the last few years, we usually focus on mortgage rates, investor speculation, and high demand driven by local economic growth. But we often overlook a primary culprit behind rising prices â€" zoning laws.
...Restrictive zoning hits the housing market it two ways: It increases costs by adding to delays in approvals, and it reduces the number of homes built to satisfy demand. Economists Christopher Mayer and Tsueriel Somerville found that adding just three months of delay to the approval process could reduce new housing construction by 45 percent. But zoning and conventional land-use planning has an even more destructive impact. The prevent communities from changing to naturally meet new needs and community concerns."
FULL STORY: Zoning Laws Drive Housing Prices Higher

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.

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

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself
The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

Savannah Reduces Speed Limits on Almost 100 City Streets
The historic Georgia city is lowering speed limits in an effort to reduce road fatalities.

A Park Reborn: Resilience and Renewal in Fire-Stricken Altadena
Rebuilt in just two months after the devastating Eaton Fire, Loma Alta Park now stands as a symbol of community resilience and renewal, even as some residents hope recovery efforts will continue to support housing stability and long-term equity.

Spain Moves to Ban 66,000 Airbnbs
The national government is requiring the short-term rental operator to remove thousands of illegal listings from its site as part of an effort to stem a growing housing crisis.
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