Research Symposium

BIO

Noah is an avid fan of skiing, SCUBA diving, and performing stand-up comedy. Noah loves a good non-fiction book and enjoys talking about zoning. He is 27 years old, from the greater New York City area, and served in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Houston, Zoning, and Housing

Abstract

Is deregulation or no regulation better for encouraging housing development in cities? Scholars, economists, and planners continue to debate whether exclusively market-based practices or regulatory processes are the best path towards increasing housing supply. Houston, Texas, is an example of an unregulated city or “pro-market” environment. Land use restrictions in Houston, Texas, comes from agreements between private citizens. Meanwhile Miami, Florida, is an example of a typical American city which utilizes government-enforced zoning practices. Using 2000 and 2015 Census and American Community Survey data respectively, this research examines the relationship between zoning codes which promote mixed-use development and the number of occupied, available, and total housing units in a neighborhood. This study analyzes the two neighborhoods Greater Fondren Southwest in Houston, Texas, and Coral Way in Miami, Florida, by running the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The test is used on five variables: occupied housing units, available housing units, total housing units, population, and median home value of owner-occupied units. The findings of this research indicate a relationship between more flexible zoning (i.e., moving towards deregulation and no regulation) and an increase in occupied, available, and total housing units. Additionally, population and median home value of owner-occupied units also increased at statistically significant levels. In terms of policy recommendations, this research suggests that cities use a fully unregulated model like Houston. Future studies should evaluate if “fully unregulated” policies will assist cities experiencing housing shortages more than massive deregulation.

Keywords: Zoning Houston Miami Land-Use Housing