"Yes in God's Backyard" - A Useful, But Limited Form of Housing Deregulation
There is a growing movement to let churches and other religious organizations build housing on their property that would otherwise be banned by zoning regulations.
Housing Policy
NIMBY Towns, Fake Parks, and Eminent Domain
Plus: unpermitted ADUs in San Jose, Sen. J.D. Vance's mass deportation plan for housing affordability, and the California Coastal Commission's anti-housing record.
Does Miami Have the Answer to Homelessness?
There may not be a perfect solution to ending homelessness, but there are some clear principles to reduce the friction for those working to do so.
New Atlantic Article on "The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning"
It is coauthored with Josh Braver.
Will This Bill Save or Scuttle California's Builder's Remedy?
Plus: Sen. John Fetterman introduces a new zoning reform bill, U.C. Berkeley finally beats the NIMBYs in court, and Austin's unwise "equity overlay."
Conflicting Evidence on Public Support for YIMBY Zoning Reform
Recent studies diverge on the extent to which public opinion backs policies that would deregulate housing construction. YIMBYs would do well to learn from both.
Essay on "How Constitutional Litigation Can Help End Exclusionary Zoning"
A guest post on economist Bryan Caplan's Bet On It substack.
The Housing Policy Implications of Taylor Swift
Plus: An interview with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis about the state's blockbuster year for housing reform.
Bryan Caplan: How Regulation Makes Housing More Expensive
Moving is no longer a viable way to grow your wealth in the U.S., says the author of Build, Baby, Build.
The Rise of the Bedroom Counters
Plus: The results of rent control are in, California's tiny home program gets minimal results, and yet another city eyes a crackdown on short-term rentals.
Tacos, Sandwiches, and Zoning
Plus: Austin shrinks its minimum lot sizes, Florida builds on past zoning reforms, and Arizona passes ADU and missing middle bills.
Compendium of Bryan Caplan's Guest-blogging Posts on His New Book "Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation"
A listing of his four posts on different aspects of the book and the issues it raises.
*Build, Baby, Build*: Responses to the Best Objections
Specificity, fertility, and political assimilation. Fourth in a series of guest-blogging posts.
No, Politicians Can't 'Fix' Prices—and That's OK
Price controls lead to the misallocation of resources, shortages, diminished product quality, and black markets.
The YIMBY Napkin
Checking the credibility of Hsieh-Moretti the lazy way. Third in a series of guest-blogging posts.
Zoning Regulations Empower Control Freaks—and Bigots
The Institute for Justice has launched a project to reform land use regulation.
New York's City of Maybe
Plus: Colorado passes a string of zoning reforms, an upscale Los Angeles grocery store sues to stop new housing, and Democrats urge the White House to get moving on fair housing.
*Build, Baby, Build*: My Most Inexcusable Omission
Privatization of federal and state land is a massive missed opportunity. Second in a series of guest-blogging posts.
We Don't Need a Nationwide Energy Code
These new regulations will drive up housing costs even further.
Trillions
Why *Build, Baby, Build* should be a top libertarian priority. First in a series of guest-blogging posts.
Bryan Caplan, Guest-blogging About his New Book "Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing Regulation"
The book makes the case for massively deregulating housing markets.
Rent Free Q&A: Bryan Caplan on Build, Baby, Build
The George Mason University economist talks about his new housing comic book and how America could deregulate its way into an affordable urban utopia.
Rent Control Remains the Wrong Solution to Housing Woes
Restricting the price of housing kills incentives to supply places to live.
How Immigration Restrictions Reduce Housing Construction and Exacerbate Shortages
A new study shows deportation of undocumented migrants reduces housing construction by diminishing the supply of workers needed to do it.
Ohio Pastor Criminally Charged for Letting People Sleep In Church. Again.
Plus: California's landmark law ending single-family-only zoning is struck down, Austin, Texas, moves forward with minimum lot size reform, and the pro-natalist case for pedestrian infrastructure.
Don't Fall For RFK Jr.'s Home Loan Scheme
Kennedy’s plan for government-backed mortgage bonds will do to housing what federal student loans have done to college tuition.
Colorado Bans HOAs From Banning Home Businesses
Homeowners associations are the most, and the least, libertarian form of governance.
Costly Complexity
The needless complexity of affordable housing programs are hurting people they're supposed to help.
Combat Homelessness by Ending Exclusionary Zoning
The Eighth Amendment provides little, if any, protection for the homeless. But courts can help them by striking down exclusionary zoning, which is the major cause of housing shortages that lead to homelessness.
California Is Trying To Drive Landlords Out of Business
Which is bad news for anyone hoping to rent a place to live.
Upcoming Event on "Solving the Nation's Housing Shortage" [update]
Economist Bryan Caplan, former National Association of Home Builders Director Jerry Howard, and I will speak at event sponsored by the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
The Supreme Court Rules Impact Fees Can Violate Your Property Rights Too
Plus: Zoning reform in Minnesota stalls, a New York housing "deal" does little for housing supply, and Colorado ends occupancy limits.
A New York Housing Grand Bargain?
Plus: Problems for Saudi Arabia's The Line, Hawaii considers a short-term rental crackdown, and when affordable housing mandates get you less affordable housing.
New NBER Study Finds Covid Eviction Moratoria Increased Racial Discrimination
Moratoria caused landlords to be less willing to rent to black tenants.
The Catholic Case Against NIMBYism
Urban policy analyst Addison Del Mastro advances it in the Catholic journal America.
New Zealand's YIMBY Success - And How We Can Learn From it
New Zealand alleviated a severe housing shortage by liberalizing regulations that had previously blocked most new construction.
Pioneer Institute Hubwonk Podcast on Exclusionary Zoning and the Takings Clause
In interview with Joe Selvaggi of the Pioneer Institute, I explain the harm caused by exclusionary zoning, and why it violates the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
Birth of a YIMBY Folk Hero
Plus: The White House's rent controls, San Francisco's bad-to-worse turn on housing, and the latest unintended consequence of eviction moratoriums
Are 'Squatters' Rights' Out of Control?
Too many property owners are having trouble asserting their rights, but not everything is "squatter's rights."
California Won't Let Homeowners Insurance Companies Raise Rates, so They're Leaving the State Instead
Giving the state control over insurance rates turned pricing into a Byzantine regulatory process.
Squatters' Rights Laws Violate the Takings Clause
Where these laws allow squatters to occupy houses without the owner's consent, they qualify as takings of private property that require payment of compensation under the Fifth Amendment.
Zoning Versus the Good Samaritan. Again.
Plus: New York refreshes rent control, AOC and Bernie Sanders call for more, greener public housing, and California's "builder's remedy" wins big in court.
Central Planners Can't Fix Iraq—or Detroit
In Fragile Neighborhoods, author Seth Kaplan applies his Fixing Fragile States observations domestically.
American Nightmare
Plus: Squatters, Julian Assange, teen babysitters, Hong Kong migration, and more...
The Dark Side of Housing Bipartisanship
Plus: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is fooled by TikTok housing falsehoods, Austin building boom cuts prices, and Sacramento does the socialist version of "homeless homesteading."
Cross-Ideological YIMBY Coalition Defies Increasing Polarization - So Far
The New York Times and the Atlantic report on how the movement to curb exclusionary zoning and build more housing has managed to cut across ideological lines.
