Publications
The briefs and reports below provide a sample of recent research by Lewis Center faculty, affiliated scholars, staff, and students, produced internally or by our partner centers and other universities. Learn more about support for students and the Graduate Student Fellows program to fund students conducting capstone research.
Note: Briefs and reports are often adapted from or into published books and articles in academic journals, which are not listed here.
| Title | Author(s) | Year |
|---|---|---|
BriefA Review of California's Process for Determining, and Accommodating Regional Housing NeedsThis background paper is meant to help the California State Auditor and legislators better understand the limitations of the RHNA process and areas for improvement. |
Christopher S. Elmendorf, Paavo Monkkonen, Nicholas J. Marantz | 2022 |
ReportWhat Gets Built on Sites That Cities "Make Available" for Housing?In this report, we analyze local plans and housing development rates in nearly 100 cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. We assess production on sites presented by cities to the state government as apt for housing, as well as elsewhere in the city. |
Christopher S. Elmendorf, Paavo Monkkonen, Sidharth Kapur, Salim Damerdji | 2021 |
Report“I Would, If Only I Could” How Cities Can Use California’s Housing Element to Overcome Neighborhood Resistance to New HousingAn explanation of how city councils and planning departments can use the housing element law to increase housing supply, but find themselves constrained by neighborhood-level opposition to change. |
Paavo Monkkonen, Moira O'Neill, Christopher S. Elmendorf, Eric Biber | 2020 |
ReportRegional Housing Need in California: The San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area's housing target fails to account for the fact that the region leads the nation in super-commuters, many of whom work in the Bay Area but have been driven to live outside of it. |
Christopher S. Elmendorf, Michael Manville, Michael Lens, Paavo Monkkonen, Moira O'Neill, Ethan Elkind, Nicholas Marantz, Jessica Trounstine | 2020 |
BriefIncreasing the Duration of Affordability Requirements for New Affordable HousingWhile LA has recently made great strides increasing its production of affordable homes, the gains to new housing are partially offset by the loss of older affordable units. |
Shane Phillips | 2020 |
BriefA New Approach to the Housing Element UpdateLocal governments face new rules as they begin updating their local Housing Elements for the 2021-29/2022-30 planning period. This brief proposes a new way for cities to approach the sites inventory to meet their housing targets, moving beyond simply identifying vacant and underutilized parcels. |
Paavo Monkkonen, Christopher S. Elmendorf, Moira O'Neill, Eric Biber | 2020 |
BriefA Flawed Law: Reforming California’s Housing ElementIn recent years, the state legislature has passed bills seeking to reform California's Housing Element Law. This brief highlights a sometimes misunderstood feature of the law's core planning tool: the RHNA process. |
Paavo Monkkonen, Michael Manville, Spike Friedman | 2019 |
ReportTransit Oriented Los Angeles: Envisioning an Equitable and Thriving FutureThis report provides a conceptual framework for thinking about how more people can live and work near transit, near the major regional investments that county residents are paying for, in ways that maximize social benefits and minimize social costs. |
Madeline Brozen, Matthew Hartzell, Paavo Monkkonen, Michael Manville, Mark Vallianatos | 2018 |
BriefFederal Housing Assistance in Los Angeles County is Primarily for High-Income NeighborhoodsEliminating the Mortgage Interest Deduction would generate new revenue for the federal government — in 2014, it cost the U.S. Treasury more than $100 billion. An expansion of such magnitude might allow us to cover all the households in LA County eligible for housing subsidies. |
Paavo Monkkonen, Yiwen (Xavier) Kuai | 2018 |
BriefCan a Tool of Segregation Be Used to Fight Displacement?Rises in housing costs are outstripping income gains, and residents are being pushed out of central city neighborhoods that have been affordable to low-income workers for decades. How can cities actively curb displacement? |
Eve Bachrach, Michael Lens | 2017 |