The Role of Land Policy in Addressing Housing and Climate Challenges

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

The US is experiencing a dual crisis in its housing sector. Home prices and rents are increasing rapidly as housing supply fails to keep up with demand, and climate change and extreme weather events put our existing housing stock at grave risk. There is a growing, bipartisan "pro-housing" movement in the U.S. that is focused on addressing the first challenge by reducing regulatory barriers and leveraging innovation to boost housing production. But we also need to fortify our existing housing stock against the effects of climate change and anticipate how natural disasters, sea-level rise and extreme weather events will change where and how we build new homes. 

In recent years, an average of 1 in 10 homes in the U.S. have been damaged or destroyed by natural disasters, and it is estimated that climate change will wipe out nearly $1.5 trillion in home values over the next three decades. These costs are already being priced in insurance markets, with a dramatic increase in climate-related claims driving up the costs of property insurance significantly, contributing to increasing cost burdens for homeowners and further constraining housing supply. At the same time, new residential construction in the US continues to occur in high-risk areas and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, both through the construction process itself and the subsequent energy use of the buildings. And when we build homes far from job centers and services, we further exacerbate climate change through emissions related to transportation and loss of natural habitats that absorb carbon and reduce flood risk. 

Fortunately, many states, regions, and localities across the country are adopting innovative land policies that can both help us address our nation’s housing supply shortage and the urgent need for climate mitigation and adaptation at the same time. This roundtable will focus on three broad areas of land policy that have the potential to unlock climate and housing solutions simultaneously: land use and zoning regulations; building technology innovations and modern building codes; and land-based finance and land-value capture. The panel will also discuss how land policies can be combined with other adaptation tools to reduce risks to communities and lower costs for consumers. Roundtable participants will discuss promising policies, what research suggests about their effectiveness, the equity implications of these policies, and what more is needed to accelerate progress. The roundtable will also suggest how the pro-housing and climate-action movements can find common ground in land policy, and what we need to do to build more effective, inclusive, and enduring coalitions. 

Policy Area

• Housing, Community Development, and Urban Policy

Secondary Policy Area

• Natural Resource, Energy, and Environmental Policy

Moderator

• Solomon J Greene, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Organizer

• Solomon J Greene, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Speakers

• Carlos Eduardo Martin, Urban Institute

• Patrick Welch, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

• Evan Allan Derickson, National Zoning Atlas