Environmental finance (Policy).

• Position: From the Library - Brief Article

"Smart Growth and Housing Affordability: Evidence from Statewide Planning Laws"

Staley, Samuel and Gilroy, Leonard

Reason Public Policy Institute, Policy Study No. 287, December 2001.

States across the country have either adopted or are considering growth management laws to mitigate the perceived negative impacts of low-density urban development, or "sprawl." One of the stated objectives of this legislation is to increase the diversity and affordability of housing. The purpose of this report was to measure the impact of these laws on housing affordability by examining three leaders in the Smart Growth movement--Florida, Oregon, and Washington. The authors found that statewide planning reforms, by limiting the supply of land through urban growth boundaries and increasing costs through onerous development review processes, increase housing prices and undermine the goal of affordability. According to the study, Florida's Growth...