Do Restrictive Land Use Regulations Make Housing More Expensive Everywhere?

This study makes three contributions to the debate over the effect of local land use regulations on housing prices and affordability. First, it is more geographically extensive than previous studies, encompassing 336 of the nation's 384 metropolitan areas. Second, it looks at multiple measures of regulatory stringency, not just one. Most prior studies have focused either on a single regulatory measure or index across multiple metropolitan areas, or multiple regulatory measures in a single region. Third, this paper considers the connection between regulatory stringency and housing values as a function of employment growth and per-worker payroll levels. We find that restrictive land use regulations do indeed have a pervasive effect on local home values and rents, and that these effects are magnified in faster-growing and more prosperous economies. We also find more restrictive land use regulations are not associated with faster rates of recent home value or rent growth, and that their effects on housing construction levels—that is, the degree to which they constrain supply—is uneven among different housing markets.

3D CITYLUR: MODELLING 3D CITY LAND-USE REGULATIONS TO SUPPORT ISSUING A PLANNING PERMIT

The applications and understanding of Land-use Regulations (LuR) are more communicable when they are linked to the digital representation of the physical world. In order to support issuing a planning permit and move towards the establishment of automated planning permit checks, this paper investigates how LuRs related to a planning permit process can be modelled in 3D called 3D CityLuR. 3D CityLuR serves as a 3D model for representing LuRs’ legal extents on a city scale. It is formed based on multiple geometric modelling approaches representing LuRs, which can provide a better cognitive understanding of LuRs and subsequently facilitate LuR automatic checks. To this purpose, according to LuRs’ descriptions and characteristics explained in related planning documents, key parameters representing LuRs’ extent are identified (e.g. maximum distance in overlooking or maximum allowed height in building height regulations). Accordingly, to automatically model each LuR, a geometric modelling approach (e.g. Boundary Representation (B-Rep), CSG, and extrusion) that best fits with the identified key parameters is proposed. In addition, to combine 3D CityLuR with an integrated BIM-GIS environment, the level of information need in terms of geometries and semantics is specified. Finally, the paper results in a showcase for five LuRs including building height, energy efficiency protection, overshadowing open space, overlooking, and noise impacts regulations. The showcase is a proof of concept for determining how these LuRs can be modelled in 3D and combined with 3D city models based on the selected geometric modelling approaches, identified parameters, and level of information need.

APPRAISAL OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LAND-USE REGULATIONS ON COMMERCIAL PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT IN ILORIN, NIGERIA

The implementation of land use regulations on commercial property development is extremely important because of benefits abound in it for the society. Ilorin the capital of Kwara state, Nigeria is experiencing influx of many residents which gave rise to series of urban challenges. This paper appraised the implementation of land use regulations on commercial property development in Ilorin, Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design and census method was adopted for the commercial properties and Estate Surveying and Valuation firms in the study area. Questionnaires were distributed to 26 practicing Estate firms in Ilorin Kwara State, 110 and 39 selected landlords / occupiers of commercial properties in Gambari-Ipata-Emir’s road and Government Reserved Area in Ilorin, Nigeria. Out of which 24 questionnaires (92%) and 110 (100%), 36 (92 %) were returned and found useful for the study. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of cross tabulation and inferential statistics of Independent Sample t – Test and test of hypothesis. The research revealed that the p-values were all greater than 0.01 which led to the acceptance of null hypothesis that the level of implementation of land use regulations on commercial property development does not vary in the study area. The study conclude that there were hindrances to effective implementations of land use regulations on commercial property development across the study areas, and if not corrected will continue to affect the welfare of the citizens, ease of commercial activities, will lead to falling in commercial property’s rental value, falling in urban aesthetic value, and an increase in externalities. The study recommended proper government intervention in providing better resources to improve the level of monitoring and enforcement of land use regulations on commercial property development.

Land-Use Regulations and Urban Growth of African Americans

Land-use regulations can restrict urban growth by increasing housing costs. This article investigates the heterogeneous effects of land-use regulations among different racial groups. It uses U.S. Census Bureau data from 202 U.S. metropolitan areas from 1980 to 2010 to investigate how land-use regulations affect changes in the share of African Americans in response to local economic demand. The research finds that highly regulated metropolitan areas experienced a much smaller increase (sometimes a decrease) in the share of African American workers in response to an increase in local labor demand. These results suggest that land-use regulations can restrict the urban growth of African Americans in areas with demand.

Using Ontario's Development Permit Systems To Implement Metrolinx’s Mobility Hubs In The Greater Golden Horseshoe

Through Metrolinx, the province of Ontario seeks to change the sprawling, car dependent character of The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Areas by introducing a vast network of rapid transit routes along a series of corridors, linked by a series of nodes, called mobility hubs. Following Smart Growth principles, these hubs should be buttressed by transit supportive land-use regulations, but the current land-use planning framework in the region makes such changes difficult. By implementing a little used tool in Ontario's

Exploring Islamophobia in land use regulations: the case of the city of Mississauga

Building community spaces is important for immigrant communities: it helps transform the sterility of an unfamiliar new city into home. Muslims have historically sought to make cities their own by building mosques that have served spiritual, social and symbolic functions as architectural sites. This essay examines what the interplay between settlement of newcomers and new types of land use applications and what it tells readers about municipal gaps in addressing the question of “difference” in Canada using the City of Mississauga as a case study. It starts with a review of the history and context of mosque building in Canada, follows up by examining land use policies in Mississauga, and then looks at controversial mosque development issues by examining official city and provincial documents including one Human Rights Complaint. This paper wraps up by presenting recommendations for municipalities to better navigate the question of difference through policy and praxis. Keywords: Islamophobia, land‐use planning, urban planning, racism, exclusion, xenophobia, Mississauga, public policy

Exploring Islamophobia in land use regulations: the case of the city of Mississauga

Building community spaces is important for immigrant communities: it helps transform the sterility of an unfamiliar new city into home. Muslims have historically sought to make cities their own by building mosques that have served spiritual, social and symbolic functions as architectural sites. This essay examines what the interplay between settlement of newcomers and new types of land use applications and what it tells readers about municipal gaps in addressing the question of “difference” in Canada using the City of Mississauga as a case study. It starts with a review of the history and context of mosque building in Canada, follows up by examining land use policies in Mississauga, and then looks at controversial mosque development issues by examining official city and provincial documents including one Human Rights Complaint. This paper wraps up by presenting recommendations for municipalities to better navigate the question of difference through policy and praxis. Keywords: Islamophobia, land‐use planning, urban planning, racism, exclusion, xenophobia, Mississauga, public policy

Using Ontario's Development Permit Systems To Implement Metrolinx’s Mobility Hubs In The Greater Golden Horseshoe

Through Metrolinx, the province of Ontario seeks to change the sprawling, car dependent character of The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Areas by introducing a vast network of rapid transit routes along a series of corridors, linked by a series of nodes, called mobility hubs. Following Smart Growth principles, these hubs should be buttressed by transit supportive land-use regulations, but the current land-use planning framework in the region makes such changes difficult. By implementing a little used tool in Ontario's

Do Higher Land Costs for New Single-Family Housing Inhibit Economic Activity in U.S. Metropolitan Areas?

The price of a new home is greater if the land to put it on costs more. In many U.S. metropolitan areas, this generates the widely acknowledged equity concern that low- to moderate-income households spend disproportionately on housing. But high residential land prices translating into high single-family home prices may also generate the efficiency concern of discouraging new workers’ entry into such areas or encouraging existing workers’ exit. The result could be a decrease in economic activity. This research offers panel-data regression evidence in support of the existence of this adverse outcome. Perhaps these findings can raise the saliency of the needed state or federal government intervention to curtail the stringency of local residential land-use regulations. NIMBYs see these land-use regulations as in their jurisdiction’s best interest, but as demonstrated here, such restrictions impose additional metro-wide economic concerns.