Episode 183: West Coast Model

Episode 183: West Coast Model (guest Chris Elmendorf)

Why is housing so expensive in major West Coast and northeastern cities? Not just more than you might want to pay, but, often, prohibitively expensive with little sign of new supply in areas people want to live. Chris Elmendorf joins us to explain this problem and the limited effectiveness of two types of solutions, the Northeastern and West Coast models. Drawing on the intergovernmental approach of the Voting Rights Act, Chris argues that a strong state role in reviewing the regulatory activities of local governments, if done in the right way, could be the way forward. And it points to a dramatic rethinking of how land use law should be made and what problems it should try to solve.

This show’s links:

Chris Elmendorf's faculty profile and writing

Christopher Elmendorf, Beyond the Double Veto: Land Use Plans As Preemptive Intergovernmental Contracts

William Fischel, The Homevoter Hypothesis

Roderick Hills, Jr. and David Schleicher, Planning an Affordable City

Robert Ellickson, Suburban Growth Controls: An Economic and Legal Analysis

About Senate Bill 827

Text of Senate Bill 828

Special Guest: Chris Elmendorf.