Excessively restrictive local land use regulations push people away from centers of economic activity, inhibit innovation, and raise costs for renters.
Land Use Reform
We seek to reduce the harms caused by excessively restrictive local land use regulations.
Local laws often prohibit the construction of dense new housing, leading to higher housing prices, especially in a few large high-wage metropolitan areas (e.g., New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.). More permissive policy could contribute to both affordable housing and the continued growth of centers of economic activity, allowing more people to access high-wage jobs and encouraging economic growth through returns to agglomeration. Working toward more permissive policy in those key regions from a public-interest perspective (as opposed to lobbying for specific developments) appears neglected considering the significant potential gains. For more about our strategy in this area, see our land use reform cause report.
The following Open Philanthropy staff oversee the Land Use Reform program.
Land Use Reform, at a glance
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20 Grants Made
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$6.7 Million Given
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5 Focus Regions