Now researchers will be able to verify that similar problems are cropping up nationwide. The Wharton Residential Land Use Index, a nationwide survey of local housing ordinances, measures multiple types of regulation: approval requirements, supply caps, density limitations and so on. It shows that restrictions on construction are greatest in big coastal cities and have been increasing over time. It’s becoming ever clearer that the reluctance to build more housing is a national problem.
Excessive restrictions on construction aren’t just causing headaches for renters; they also probably hurt national productivity. A new model of urban growth by economists Gilles Duranton and Diego Puga found that the synergies between workers and companies that have caused the boom in hot cities tend to get choked off by housing regulation, leaving the nation poorer as a result. This is similar to what other economists have found using very different sets of theoretical assumptions; basically, superstar cities are so productive and desirable that it’s good to fit more people into those cities.
The quickest solution is widespread upzoning. Oregon and the city of Minneapolis have recently banned single-family zoning, allowing duplexes and other forms of moderately dense housing everywhere. Meanwhile, California’s pro-housing forces are trying again, with a revamped version of a bill that would force cities to allow more density; an earlier version of the bill was killed by a powerful appropriations committee chair last year. If measures like these become common nationwide, the country’s suffering renters will finally get a break and the economy will get a boost.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.