Overcoming Opposition to New Housing

Paavo Monkkonen | Will Livesley-O'Neill

How can we reform our planning systems to increase supply on the one hand, and to reduce the unequal spatial distribution of new development on the other? Researchers at UCLA examined the tactics available to opponents of new housing development and categorized the motivations behind anti-development sentiment. Identifying the most salient motivations behind opposition to housing construction can help us overcome these barriers with far-reaching solutions. Recommendations for addressing California housing opposition problems include enhancing and enforcing current housing laws, making the planning process more inclusive, and shifting the scale of land use decisions from local to regional or state.

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