Details

Title	Residential Land Use Regulation in the Philadelphia MSA
Highlights	This paper states that extensive residential land use regulations increase housing costs.
Description	This working paper by Joseph Gyourko and Anita Summers examines the scope and effect of residential land use regulation on development costs in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Using an index designed to measure the degree of land use regulation, the authors conducted a national and regional survey to analyze the level of regulatory control in the Philadelphia MSA and compare it with other communities across the nation. Results from the survey show that the development review process is much longer in the Philadelphia region than the rest of the nation. According to the authors, 91 percent of the communities that were surveyed control housing densities by imposing minimum lot size restrictions, and more than 57 percent of the communities with extensive regulatory control experienced an increase in lot development costs beyond normal inflation rates.
Publication Date	2006
Organization	University of Pennsylvania
Web Location	http://real.wharton.upenn.edu/~gyourko/Working%20Papers/Working%20Papers%202006/Philadelphia%20paper%20revised%2012%2012%2006.pdf

Notice: The contents of this record reflect the views of the author and/or promulgating municipality, and should not be construed as representing the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or U.S. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research. No attempt has been made by U.S. HUD or its contractors to verify the accuracy, currency, or validity of the record contents presented herein.