Policy design determines what kinds of housing are allowed, where they can be built, and under what conditions.
We look at:
Zoning and land-use rules
Housing types permitted or restricted
Development standards and requirements
How “flexibility” is defined — and for whom
Policy decisions don’t just regulate housing. They define the range of outcomes people eventually experience.
Housing supply is shaped by more than demand. It is constrained by physical, regulatory, and infrastructure limits that often go unexamined.
We focus on:
Infrastructure capacity (water, sewer, roads)
Parking and transportation requirements
Environmental and site constraints
Timing, sequencing, and permitting delays
When capacity is constrained without expanding alternatives, costs rise and choices narrow.
Rules and capacity don’t operate in isolation. They interact with incentives — financial, regulatory, and political — that shape real-world outcomes.
We examine:
What types of projects are financially viable
Which housing forms are encouraged or discouraged
How risk is shifted or concentrated
Who benefits from the current structure — and who adapts
Understanding incentives helps explain why certain outcomes repeat, even when intentions change.
Housing debates often focus on symptoms — prices, rents, shortages — without examining the systems that produce them.
By focusing on structure, capacity, and incentives, we move the conversation upstream. That’s where durable solutions are found.
This approach doesn’t promise quick fixes. It creates clarity — and clarity is what allows better decisions.
