Introducing the Upzoning Tracker

One feature of this blog is the Upzoning Tracker, which can be found here, or on the navigation bar at the top of the page. The Upzoning Tracker aims to be a one-stop-shop for information on upzoning - where it has been tried, and what its’ impacts are. As so much is happening so quickly, it can be easy to lose track of everything that’s going on. The aim is that when someone asks you for evidence and resources on how zoning reform can improve housing affordability, you only need to send them one link. The page includes links to other cool pieces of research and analysis that you can easily navigate to on or off-site.

So, what can you expect from the Upzoning Tracker? It is made up of three features:

A high-level summary of the state of upzoning globally - highlighting the number of areas that have pursued upzoning, the number of studies proving that it increases supply, and areas that it has seen lower rents in. Finally, the summary will track the number of Australian jurisdictions that have upzoned - at this stage it is a disappointing zero .

A dashboard highlighting the effects of upzoning, where it has been tried, in a few charts and dot points. These will focus on how supply has responded in an upzoned area, and the effect on rents and affordability. So far, I’ve included two short sections on Auckland and Minneapolis, as these are the areas that have upzoned the longest and have the best available data. Both jurisdictions have seen a strong supply response, and lower rents - the chart below is one of my favourites: it shows the explosion of new multi-unit housing supply in Auckland since upzoning. A more in depth look at these two areas, beyond a high-level summary, can be found under the resources tab.

I’ll admit that two areas is not a great breath of evidence (noting however that smaller scale zoning reforms have been proven to increase housing supply in Portland and Zurich), but this is in part a reflection of the fact that most policies are so new. I aim to add other areas to the dashboard over time - I have my eye on Oregon, California, Maine, and New Zealand as a whole, given their recent policy reforms - we should start to see some impacts toward the middle of 2023.

An upzoning timeline highlighting when, where and what has occurred globally. Hopefully this will be useful in allowing researchers and those interested in housing policy to see which areas have undertaken policy reforms, and what governments are trying to improve affordability. The timeline highlights how recent most of these policy shifts are - almost all major movements have occurred since 2018.

I aim to update the upzoning tracker every month, with the most recent data and policy developments - so check in from time to time to see what new evidence is emerging. The grey box at the top of the page will highlight when the page has been updated, and what has been added. But, if I have missed something or if you have any thoughts, please get in touch and let me know.