The argument in the headline, put more specifically: inclusionary zoning, fees, legal challenges, and minimum apartment sizes are counter-productive. The only policy that will add housing stock, is to make it much cheaper to add housing stock.
Dan Bertolet chooses a side in an ongoing debate about the causes of the nation's housing crisis—specifically, the reasons why the cost of housing is so high in so many places around the country.
Few public policy issues can match urban housing politics for its incendiary combination of passion and misconception. To wit: the confounding idea that relaxing regulations and fees to decrease the cost of homebuilding won’t make homes more affordable.
So on one side, there is the familiar argument that land use regulations, fees, and red tape don't have much influence on the price of housing, because "developers charge as much as the 'market will bear' anyway. Any savings from streamlined regulations or reduced fees just yield more profit for the developer, not lower prices or rents."
According to Bertolet, that line of reasoning excuses counter-productive housing policy, and is often used to propose more costs for developers. Bertolet is choosing the other side of this debate: that red tape and fees add to the cost of housing, and that to add the level of housing stock necessary to lower the cost of housing, red tape and fees should be removed as mush as possible. Bertolet goes into a lot more detail to make his case, while discussing examples like inclusionary zoning and acknowledging that his opinion is not popular among urban planners.
FULL STORY: YES, RED TAPE AND FEES DO RAISE THE PRICE OF HOUSING
How the ‘Housing Trap’ Keeps Housing Unaffordable
The financialization of housing uncouples housing prices from local supply and demand. Fixing this requires a new approach.
Preserving Affordable Housing Through Existing Stock
As the cost of building new housing rises, mechanisms that support the purchase of existing housing by local governments and housing authorities can help mitigate the housing crisis and create affordable housing faster than new construction.
San Francisco Housing Construction Far Slower Than Other Tech Hubs
Experts blame high land and construction costs and restrictive regulations for San Francisco’s dismal rate of housing construction, which lags behind other fast-growing cities like Austin and Seattle.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
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.
.jpg){kind=link}
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research