Permitting & Entitlement
The approval process between a proposed project and a building permit. Review timelines, environmental review, discretionary approvals, and the carrying costs that accumulate while a project waits.
ROAD talks survive the reset
A bill surviving amendment is not the same as a bill advancing. What matters now is whether the bank language stays attached and whether Senate leaders spend floor time on it.
Wisconsin shows the ROAD Act's affordability case
Three provisions, three different theories of what makes housing expensive: who buys existing homes, how long review takes, and whether local governments can plan past one appropriations cycle.
The road to more housing still runs through permitting
Transportation money is one of the few levers Washington can pull on local land use. The design problem is calibration: incentives too soft change nothing, too blunt and the politics collapse.
We didn't just price out renters. We priced out the ability to build.
How regulation, delay, and rising development costs turned a housing affordability crisis into a breakdown in the basic ability to build — and where that leaves federal policy.
Solutions to the housing crisis come in all sizes – including small homes
I use accessory dwelling units to show why legalizing housing is only the first step when financing, permitting, construction, and tax barriers remain.
New Rochelle, New York: A case study in how focusing on transit can increase housing options
I recount how New Rochelle rezoned its downtown around its train station, and why the Build More Housing Near Transit Act aimed to encourage that approach.
Part One of our Series on the Broken Housing Ecosystem: Impact Fees
I introduce a series on the broken housing ecosystem by showing how impact fees that rise as growth slows can undercut the development cities need.
The Cautionary Tale of Portland’s Inclusionary Housing Policy
Noel Johnson and I examine Portland's permit data after inclusionary housing took effect and argue the policy was reducing housing production at most income levels.
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