Michael Lens
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View article: A Weak Link in Efforts to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing? Evaluating Public Engagement Processes in Housing Plan Development in Southern California
A Weak Link in Efforts to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing? Evaluating Public Engagement Processes in Housing Plan Development in Southern California Open
Public participation is a core component of federal and state fair housing law implementation, but its effectiveness at Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) remains understudied. In this paper, we analyze the public engagement proc…
View article: Built out cities? A new approach to measuring land use regulation
Built out cities? A new approach to measuring land use regulation Open
We introduce a new way to measure the stringency of housing regulation. Rather than a standard regulatory index or a single aspect of regulation like Floor Area Ratio, we draw on cities' self-reported estimates of their total zoned capacit…
View article: Do Land Use Plans Affirmatively Further Fair Housing?
Do Land Use Plans Affirmatively Further Fair Housing? Open
Our metric is a useful tool for advocates and planners at all levels of government. We recommend the federal government consider incorporating it into the AFFH toolkit and practicing planners employ the measure to analyze local zoning and …
View article: Do Land Use Plans Affirmatively Further Fair Housing?
Do Land Use Plans Affirmatively Further Fair Housing? Open
The 1968 Fair Housing Act required local government recipients of federal money to take meaningful actions to affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH). Current fair housing analysis requirements are copious but do not request an assessmen…
View article: Incoming! Spatial Enrollment Competition between Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools
Incoming! Spatial Enrollment Competition between Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools Open
The meteoric rise in charter schools has several implications for traditional public schools and their students. One understudied implication is the geographic competition for students. Given traditional public school boundaries are often …
View article: Renter Nonpayment and Landlord Response: Evidence From COVID-19
Renter Nonpayment and Landlord Response: Evidence From COVID-19 Open
How renters respond to economic hardship, and how landlords respond when tenants fail to make rent, are understudied questions, owing largely to limited data. We use experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic to begin answering these questions…
View article: It's time to end single-family zoning
It's time to end single-family zoning Open
Local planning in the United States is unique in the amount of land it reserves for detached single-family homes. This privileging of single-family homes, normally called R1 zoning, exacerbates inequality and undermines efficiency. R1's or…
View article: Zoning, Land Use, and the Reproduction of Urban Inequality
Zoning, Land Use, and the Reproduction of Urban Inequality Open
Zoning determines what can be built where, and is ubiquitous in the United States. Low-density residential zoning predominates in US cities far more than in other countries, limiting housing opportunities for those who cannot afford large …
View article: Spatial Concentration and Spillover: Eviction Dynamics in Neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California, 2005–2015
Spatial Concentration and Spillover: Eviction Dynamics in Neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California, 2005–2015 Open
The lack of sufficient affordable housing in Los Angeles, California burdens many renter households with the threat of an eviction. Research has identified individual- and neighborhood-level sociodemographic correlates of eviction, but the…
View article: Zoning and affordability: A reply to Rodríguez-Pose and Storper
Zoning and affordability: A reply to Rodríguez-Pose and Storper Open
Would increasing allowable housing densities in expensive cities generate more housing construction and make housing more affordable? In a provocative article, Andrés Rodríguez-Pose and Michael Storper survey the evidence and answer no. Re…
View article: Regional Housing Need in California: The San Francisco Bay Area
Regional Housing Need in California: The San Francisco Bay Area Open
This report evaluates California’s official housing target for the San Francisco Bay Area. While the Bay Area received a substantially larger target for the upcoming planning cycle than it had in the previous cycle, the relative increase i…
View article: The Neighborhood Context of Eviction in Southern California
The Neighborhood Context of Eviction in Southern California Open
In the United States, soaring rent burdens and a dearth of affordable housing leave millions of renters at risk of eviction. The eviction epidemic is particularly pronounced in California where advocates estimate that approximately 500,000…
View article: Last Thoughts From Manville, Monkkonen, and Lens
Last Thoughts From Manville, Monkkonen, and Lens Open
This article responds to:The View From Minneapolis: Comments on “Death to Single-Family Zoning” and “It’s Time to End Single-Family Zoning”Ending Single-Family Zoning: Is There a Plan B?Not a Matter of Choice: Eliminating Single-Family Zon…
View article: It’s Time to End Single-Family Zoning
It’s Time to End Single-Family Zoning Open
Local planning in the United States is unique in the amount of land it reserves for detached single-family homes. This privileging of single-family homes, normally called R1 zoning, exacerbates inequality and undermines efficiency. R1’s or…
View article: Daytime Locations in Spatial Mismatch: Job Accessibility and Employment at Reentry From Prison
Daytime Locations in Spatial Mismatch: Job Accessibility and Employment at Reentry From Prison Open
Individuals recently released from prison confront many barriers to employment. One potential obstacle is spatial mismatch—the concentration of low-skilled, nonwhite job-seekers within central cities and the prevalence of relevant job oppo…
View article: Extremely low-income households, housing affordability and the Great Recession
Extremely low-income households, housing affordability and the Great Recession Open
The effects of the Great Recession on housing equity and homeownership have been well-documented. However, we know little about how rental households fared and the efficacy of housing subsidies in addressing affordability gaps. This paper …
View article: Employment proximity and outcomes for Moving to Opportunity families
Employment proximity and outcomes for Moving to Opportunity families Open
The Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration (MTO) randomly assigned housing vouchers to public housing residents in an experimental test of the effect of neighborhood and location on household outcomes. In terms of adult emplo…
View article: Preserving Neighborhood Opportunity: Where Federal Housing Subsidies Expire
Preserving Neighborhood Opportunity: Where Federal Housing Subsidies Expire Open
Rent burdens are increasing in U.S. metropolitan areas while subsidies on privately owned, publicly subsidized rental units are expiring. As a result, some of the few remaining affordable units in opportunity neighborhoods are at risk of b…