Initial Thoughts BAE Urban Economics' Analysis of Measure ULA
The analysis has serious flaws, and advocates are drawing sweeping conclusions from narrow findings.
Better Institutions
Housing, transportation and local government — by Shane Phillips, author of The Affordable City and host of the UCLA Housing Voice podcast.
Comments in Support of Councilmember Raman's Measure ULA Reform Proposal
Measure ULA needs fixing, and these changes will make a real difference.
A letter to my California state senator in support of SB 79 and AB 647
The state must step in to make multifamily housing legal in more places, and make it faster, simpler, and less expensive to build where multifamily housing is legal.
Why I’m voting against California’s rent control initiative, Proposition 33
Proposition 33 opens the door to abuse and misuse of local rent control policies and permanently ties the hands of our elected representatives, and it does all this so that a small number of cities may expand their rent control policies in ways that will unequivocally worsen the state’s housing affo
What do you think of this "free market" alternative to rent control?
Zoning reforms, including policies intended to produce deed-restricted affordable housing, serve a different purpose than rent control and other tenant protections.
Studies show rent stabilization has mixed/negative effects on housing supply and affordability. Why do you support it?
Rent control isn't a housing affordability policy, it's a peace-of-mind policy.
There's no such thing as a "no growth" community
Every city has one of three futures: A growing housing stock, growing housing prices , or stagnation and decline.
“Why do you spend your time advocating for expensive market-rate housing?”
So many groups and individuals need more people fighting on their behalf — why spend your time advocating for housing that only rich people can afford? Lots of reasons that have nothing to do with making rich people’s lives easier, as it turns out.
Don't expand Fire District 1. Eliminate it.
Expanding Fire District 1 would make it more expensive to build new homes, increase greenhouse gas emissions, and do nothing to improve safety.
Blueprint for building a shared-equity rental market
With government-chartered regional housing cooperatives and access to attractive federal financing, we could transform the rental market to provide renters with greater wealth, stability, and flexibility.
How to build more homes while prioritizing equity in Los Angeles
Upzone the Westside and strengthen tenant protections everywhere.
Why we shouldn't apply "value capture" to parking reform
There’s a debate happening right now over whether to apply “value capture” to a statewide parking reform bill — California State Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s AB 1401 . As someone who supports value capture in the context of upzoning, and advocates strongly for it in my book, The Affordable City ,
What Housing Boom? Housing units built each decade in the city of Los Angeles
LA’s “housing boom” is actually a continuation of three decades of very limited housing production.
A "Rental Pension" Program to Compete with Homeownership
As a wealth-building, publicly-owned housing option, a rental pension program could offer all of the benefits of renting with many of the benefits of homeownership. It could also break the stranglehold that homeowners have on high-demand cities.
Why You Should Vote “Yes” on Proposition 15: Responses to Common Concerns
The costs of Prop 15 will be borne by commercial and industrial property owners, not businesses. It won’t discourage residential development and doesn’t apply to residential properties, including multifamily projects. And it makes future reform more likely, not less.
