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Guarding the Town Walls: Mechanisms and Motives for Restricting Multifamily Housing in Massachusetts

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  • Jenny Schuetz

Abstract

Local governments frequently restrict multifamily housing through a variety of zoning tools, which may reduce the ability of low‐income households to afford housing in desirable locations. In this article, I use a new and unusually rich data set on zoning in Massachusetts to test several hypotheses about why municipalities restrict multifamily housing. Under regulations adopted in the 1940s and 1950s, communities with more existing multifamily housing or governed by a city council zoned more leniently for multifamily housing. Beginning in the 1970s, the use of special permits increased and smaller, more affluent communities were more restrictive.

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  • Jenny Schuetz, 2008. "Guarding the Town Walls: Mechanisms and Motives for Restricting Multifamily Housing in Massachusetts," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 36(3), pages 555-586, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reesec:v:36:y:2008:i:3:p:555-586
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6229.2008.00222.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Jenny Schuetz, 2009. "No renters in my suburban backyard: Land use regulation and rental housing," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(2), pages 296-320.
    2. Andrew McMillan & Sugie Lee, 2017. "Smart growth characteristics and the spatial pattern of multifamily housing in US metropolitan areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(15), pages 3500-3523, November.
    3. Hongwei Dong & J Andy Hansz, 2019. "Zoning, density, and rising housing prices: A case study in Portland, Oregon," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 56(16), pages 3486-3503, December.
    4. Gallagher, Ryan M., 2016. "The fiscal externality of multifamily housing and its impact on the property tax: Evidence from cities and schools, 1980–2010," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 249-259.
    5. Jenny Schuetz & Rachel Meltzer & Vicki Been, 2009. "Silver Bullet or Trojan Horse? The Effects of Inclusionary Zoning on Local Housing Markets," Working Paper 8519, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    6. Jenny Schuetz & Rachel Meltzer & Vicki Been, 2011. "Silver Bullet or Trojan Horse? The Effects of Inclusionary Zoning on Local Housing Markets in the United States," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(2), pages 297-329, February.
    7. Lynn M Fisher & Nicholas J Marantz, 2015. "Can state law combat exclusionary zoning? Evidence from Massachusetts," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(6), pages 1071-1089, May.
    8. Glaeser, Edward Ludwig, 2011. "Rethinking the Federal Bias Toward Homeownership," Scholarly Articles 8052149, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
    9. Rachel Meltzer & Jenny Schuetz, 2010. "What drives the diffusion of inclusionary zoning?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 578-602.
    10. Sims, Katharine R.E. & Schuetz, Jenny, 2009. "Local regulation and land-use change: The effects of wetlands bylaws in Massachusetts," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 409-421, July.

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