Policy Minute: Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning

On December 16th, NYU Furman Center Executive Director Mark Willis delivered testimony before the New York City Planning Commission at its public hearing on the city's Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability text amendment proposals. His remarks provided an overview of NYU Furman Center research relevant to mandatory inclusionary zoning and the parking provisions (see our Policy Minute on parking) of the Zoning for Quality and Affordability proposal. Read the testimony >>

NYU Furman Center Research

• ​​A mandatory inclusionary zoning program has potential to produce affordable units in New York City’s high-rent neighborhoods without city subsidy. This NYU Furman Center report examines the economic potential of a mandatory inclusionary zoning program to produce new affordable units in New York City, highlighting many of the crucial policy choices and tradeoffs that must be considered when designing a new mandatory program. See: Creating Affordable Housing out of Thin Air: The Economics of Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning in New York City
• Inclusionary zoning policies can produce affordable units, but inclusionary zoning is not a panacea for solving all aspects of a community’s housing challenges. This earlier NYU Furman Center report summarizes an in-depth, longitudinal analysis of the effects of inclusionary zoning policies. It discusses inclusionary zoning programs across regions, their effects on surrounding housing markets, and their success in producing affordable units. See: The Effects of Inclusionary Zoning on Local Housing Markets: Lessons from the San Francisco, Washington and Suburban Boston Areas

Other Research

• "Flexible inclusionary housing policies help improve feasibility by offering developers various ways to meet affordability obligations." The Center for Housing Policy examined inclusionary zoning in cities across the U.S. and suggested four ideas that would greatly increase program flexibility without sacrificing inclusion. See: Making Inclusionary Housing More Flexible: Four Ideas for Urban Settings
• "Achieving lasting affordability requires more than simply setting long affordability periods." In a Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Working Paper, authors analyzed 20 inclusionary housing programs and emphasized how a confluence of factors—including long affordability periods and strong legal mechanisms—can help preserve affordable homes produced through inclusionary zoning programs. See: Achieving Lasting Affordability Through Inclusionary Housing

More Viewpoints

• Read: “Could there be a more soporific or cryptic string of words than mandatory inclusionary zoning, the new rallying cry in the fight to make New York a place where New Yorkers can afford to live? And yet it’s an exciting concept, especially if your rent-regulated apartment is going co-op and you can’t afford to stay, or if you’ve fought to make your neighborhood a more pleasant place to live and now your children can no longer afford to live where they grew up.” -Justin Davidson, NY Magazine (8/5/2015): ‘Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning’: The Dullest, Most Important Phrase in New York
• Read: The Inclusionary Housing Debate: The Effectiveness of Mandatory Programs Over Voluntary Programs (Nicholas J. Brunick, American Planning Association) 
• Listen: The Brian Lehrer Show: Zoning for Affordability (with New York City Council Member Brad Lander)