Why building a lot of 'affordable' housing is bad news for affordability

Christian Britschgi : If a lot of new housing in your city is "affordable," something is off.

He says Boston is permitting fewer homes than less-expensive peer cities with equivalent populations.

In a free market without subsidies and price controls, there wouldn't be such a thing as "income-restricted" units.

Boston 's inclusionary zoning policy requires developers to include "income-restricted" units in projects.

Authors: The city touts affordable units as a policy success, but they're proof of how burdensome the city's zoning regulations are.

They say they're an effective tax on new housing that lowers housing production and raises housing prices.

Authors say the policy preference for shrinking the amount of housing that's built in favor of boosting percentage of "affordable" is a nationwide phenomenon.

Housing becomes affordable when a lot of it is built, not when capital-A "affordable housing" makes up a larger slice of a tiny new housing pie.

Berkeley , California , has created an amnesty program whereby people can legalize their illegally built accessory dwelling unit ( ADU ) A Maryland man is in hot water for building a go-cart track on his property without the proper permits.