Smart Growth Can Deliver Affordable Housing

Solutions mix public values, community investment.

1 minute read

April 30, 2003, 7:00 AM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


Smart Growth's critics — particularly homebuilders — claim that any policy that discourages the ever-outward march of new subdivisions will make new houses more difficult to build and more expensive to buy. They also say that revitalizing inner city neighborhoods drives the poor out of the only housing they can afford. Neither assertion is true.Accumulating academic evidence shows that it is competition for homes in great places — in other words market forces not land use restrictions that are the primary factor in driving housing prices up. And those who insist that Smart Growth exacerbates the affordable housing shortage have no idea what they are talking about.

Thanks to Keith Schneider

Tuesday, April 29, 2003 in Michigan Land Use Institute

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

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

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 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Crowds of people walking and biking along waterfront in Sunset Dunes Park in San Francisco, California on a sunny day.

San Francisco Opens Park on Former Great Highway

The Sunset Dunes park’s grand opening attracted both fans and detractors.

5 hours ago - Mission Local

Portland Oregon Bus

Oregon Legislature to Consider Transit Funding Laws

One proposal would increase the state’s payroll tax by .08% to fund transit agencies and expand service.

6 hours ago - KATU.com

Houston, Texas skyline.

Housing Vouchers as a Key Piece of Houston’s Housing Strategy

The Houston Housing Authority supports 19,000 households through the housing voucher program.

7 hours ago - Urban Edge