Housing Choice & Affordability: Case Studies on Zoning & Gentrification Policies

• In Event: Neighborhoods, Housing and Local Politics

Abstract

Lack of affordable and workforce housing creates labor market barriers & ensuing economic suppression, bars access to communities by members of their workforce, and adds to experiences of homelessness. The supply of affordable and workforce priced housing as well as different housing choices are arguably the key contributing factors to three sub-optimal situations: insecure housing, lack of access to labor market opportunities and stifled overall economic growth (Metcalf 2018; Sell 2018; Eillie 2017; Bader 2015). Furthermore, I believe that the primary barrier to the adequate supply of affordable housing to meet the proven demand that exists for such housing is zoning. This project shifts previous findings that focus on the largest, most expensive metropolitan areas to smaller but growing cities/labor markets focusing on the West Michigan corridor. The project also considers how pro-gentrification policies such as corporate tax abatements impact housing choice and cost within land use regulations. Looking at the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan and the counties of Kent and Ottawa in West Michigan, this project asks: In what ways do local land use regulations in the context of other types of policies and regulations stifle market supply responses to demands for more affordable housing & varied housing choices in light of desires by consumers to take advantage of economic opportunities? What perspectives by community members as well as elites might interact with land use laws to maintain barriers to needed housing options? How might this lack of housing both hurt the individuals and families who need it, but also harm possibilities for further local and regional economic growth?

Author

• Virginia Parish Beard, Hope College