Zoning
Barack Obama Wants Democrats To Be the YIMBY Party. That's Easier Said Than Done.
The housing crisis is bad for national Democrats. At the state level, it's a political winner.
Life as an Academic Defender of the Intuitively Obvious
Academics are supposed to discover nonobvious, counterintituitive truths. But, especially in recent years, much of my work involves defending positions that seem obvious to most laypeople, even though many experts deny them.
The Decentralized Master Planning of Seaside, Florida
The city where The Truman Show was filmed balances communal norms with private preferences.
Pacific Legal Foundation Symposium on the 100th Anniversary of Euclid v. Ambler Realty
The symposium is seeking submissions.
NIMBY Lawsuit Accidentally Abolishes City's Entire Zoning Code
Plus: The Supreme Court declines to hear major eviction moratorium case, Maine passes zoning reform, and why tourist traps are good, actually.
NIMBYism Stifles Housing Construction in Previous Growth Areas
In recent years, exclusionary zoning and other regulatory restrictions have begun to block housing construction in areas where it was once relatively easy.
California Passes Important New YIMBY Housing Law
The new legislation exempts most new urban housing construction from the previously often stifling CEQA law. YIMBY ("yes in my backyard") advocates are cheering.
New Jersey Towns Face Setback in Lawsuit Against State's Affordable Housing Mandate
Despite this setback, a coalition of municipalities is challenging the state’s housing program in federal court.
How Texas Beat California on Housing
YIMBY policies in Texas have led to lower rents and increasing supply. The same cannot be said for California.
Stealing the Farm
Plus: housing reform is killed in Connecticut, bonus ADUs are gutted in San Diego, and two decades of Supreme Court-enabled eminent domain abuse.
My Forthcoming Article on " Public Use, Exclusionary Zoning, and Democracy"
It is part of the Yale Journal on Regulation Symposium on the 20th Anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London.
SpaceX's New Company Town Considers Adopting NIMBY Zoning Code
Starbase, Texas, is rushing to restrict development in the newly incorporated city.
New Study Highlights Housing Shortages Caused by Regulatory Barriers to Construction
The study by leading housing economists Edward Glaeser and Joseph Gyourko finds there are 15 milion fewer housing units in the US than there would be if construction in 2000-2020 had continued at the same pace as in 1980-2000.
Starter Homes Live in Texas, Die in Arizona
Plus: A new constitutional challenge to inclusionary zoning fees, a vetoed ban on rent-recommendation software, and a ill-conceived rent freeze in New York City.
How Trump's Tariffs and Immigration Policies Could Make Housing Even More Expensive
Out-of-control housing costs helped Trump win the 2024 election. Is he about to make the problem worse?
Texas Revs the Growth Machine
Plus: The near death of starter-home reform in Texas, Colorado's pending ban on rent-recommendation software, and a very Catholic story of eminent domain abuse.
How To Fix California's Self-Inflicted Homeowner's Insurance Crisis
A recent policy report points to much-needed market-based reforms.
Judge Rules in Favor of New Hampshire Bakery in Fight Over Donut Mural
Conway, New Hampshire's attempt to force a local bakery to take down the mural "does not withstand any level of constitutional scrutiny," a judge ruled this week.
A Major Property Rights Case Idles on Supreme Court Docket
The Court has been punting for months on whether it will take up a legal challenge brought by Los Angeles landlords alleging their city's COVID-era eviction ban was a physical taking.
New Jersey Town Uses Flimsy Blight Allegations To Seize Tire Shop, Apartment Building
Plus: The White House proposes stiff funding cuts at HUD, Baltimore proposes "missing middle" reforms, and Gov. Gavin Newsom urges local governments to clear encampments.
Back to Basics
Plus: California zoning bill survives powerful lawmaker's economic illiteracy, Montana legislators pass simple, sweeping, supply-side housing reforms, and Washington passes rent control.
California Housing Bills Face Crucial Hearing Today
Bills designed to allow more starter homes and apartments near transit face an uncertain future in the state Senate's housing committee.
Hawaii County Tells Homeowner His 38-Year-Old House Is Actually Illegal
Shahzaad Ausman has had to sue the county to confirm that he can continue to live in his own home.
Zoning Police Come for Cape Cod Lobsterman
Jon Tolley and his family have been serving fresh lobster from their home for over 50 years, but an anonymous complaint to town regulators threatens to shut their business down for good.
Slow and Steady
Despite politicians touting progress, Los Angeles has only issued three permits for wildfire rebuilds and debris removal is expected to drag on for many months.
Oh, Canada
Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan to create a federal housing developer is a terrible idea.
Comic: The Bottom-Up POV of Jane Jacobs
Challenging the common knowledge of urban planning
Federalist Society Webinar on "The California Wildfires and America's Housing Shortage"
The panelists included M. Nolan Gray, Jennifer Hernandez, and myself.
Judge Orders Rhode Island Town To Return Secretly Seized Land to Affordable Housing Developer
Plus: the federal government tries to stiff landlords over eviction moratorium one last time, the Supreme Court declines to take up eminent domain case, and starter home bills advance in Arizona and Texas.
Lawsuit Challenges Use of Eminent Domain as NIMBY Tool to Block Housing Project
A Rhode Island town seeks to use eminent domain to block construction of a large-scale affordable housing project.
Town Secretly Seizes Developers' Property Then Threatens Them With Trespassing Citation
The owners, who were planning an affordable housing project on the site, first learned about the seizure from the mayor's social media post.
J.D. Vance Blames Zoning, Immigrants for High Housing Costs
Plus: Texas and Minnesota consider an aggressive suite of housing supply bills, while San Diego tries to ratchet up regulations on ADUs.
The 'Montana Miracle' Vindicated in Court
On Monday, a Montana judge roundly rejected homeowners' legal challenge to new laws allowing duplexes and accessory dwelling units in single-family areas.
Upcoming Event on "Solving the Nation's Housing Crisis"
Economist Bryan Caplan and I will speak at event sponsored by the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
Fresh Starts on Starter Homes
Lawmakers in Arizona and California are attempting to overcome local resistance to meaningful starter home reforms.
Bad To Worse
From insurance to affordable housing mandates, California's regulatory noose tightens over wildfire rebuilding efforts.
Lawsuit Over New Hampshire Donut Mural Heads to Trial
Conway, New Hampshire, is trying to make a local bakery take down a mural of colorful baked goods. The bakery says that violates its First Amendment rights.
Why Are We Fighting?
When regulations limit what kind of housing can be built, the result is endless arguments about what people really want.
Town Uses Eminent Domain To Stop Private Affordable Housing Project
Johnston, Rhode Island, Mayor Joseph Polisena promised to "use all the power of government" to stop the privately financed 252-unit project.
Missing Middle, What Is It Good For?
Allowing duplexes and triplexes in single-family neighborhoods doesn't increase housing supply much. But it does give people more choices.
18 Months After Wildfires Destroyed Some 2,000 Homes on Maui, Only 3 Have Been Rebuilt
A thicket of red tape has made the island's rebuilding efforts painfully slow.
In Session
Lawmakers across the country introduce bills to strengthen private property rights, crackdown on out-of-control regulators, and get the government out of micromanaging stairways.
Regulations Keep Millions of Bedrooms Empty During a Housing Crisis
Zoning laws, occupancy limits, and short-term rental restrictions are keeping housing off the market and driving up costs.
California Squeezes Private Money Out of Wildfire Rebuilding Efforts
Needless regulation on fire insurance, "speculators," and duplexes means fewer dollars are going to rebuild Los Angeles.
The L.A. Fires Are a Natural Disaster, Not a Policy Disaster
The Golden State has many bad policies in desperate need of reform. It's not obvious they had more than a marginal effect on the still-burning fires in Los Angeles.
