Article
Evaluating California’s Housing Element Law, Housing Equity, and Housing Production (1990–2007)
Housing Policy Debate
(2016)
Abstract
Since 1969, California’s Housing Element Law has required that municipalities address housing equity and housing production. In California, housing equity means that a municipality has planned for the future production of low-income housing that is priced from 0 to 120% of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s median family income, and market-rate housing that is priced higher than 121%. For a purposive sample of municipalities (Sacramento and Los Angeles regions, 1990 to 2007, n = 53), this research found that as compliance with the law increased, the sample experienced deficient low-income housing production but surplus market-rate housing production. Mixed-effects models indicated that compliant municipalities were associated not only with increased low-income housing production but also with decreased annual housing production in comparison to noncompliant municipalities. While these associations contrast with Lewis, they suggest that municipal compliance may support California’s goal of providing housing equity but may also constrain California’s overall housing production.
Keywords
- Low-income housing,
- municipalities,
- housing elements,
- California,
- state mandates
Disciplines
Publication Date
Spring May 13, 2016
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2015.1128960
Citation Information
Darrel Ramsey-Musolf. "Evaluating California’s Housing Element Law, Housing Equity, and Housing Production (1990–2007)" Housing Policy Debate Vol. 26 Iss. 3 (2016) p. 488 - 516 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/darrel_ramsey-musolf/5/
Creative Commons license
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY International License.