November 5: What we’re reading this week
Some articles we found interesting this week:
As we point out in the Blog Post about population trends, Raleigh must enact additional regulatory reforms that will encourage more and diverse housing opportunities. Otherwise, it could result in increasing social and economic stagnation. Here is an article exploring similar trends in Europe from Bloomberg.
Housing policy is a complex issue driven by a web of complex policies and incentives across Federal, State and NC localities. As a result, successful policy changes require steady and persistent lobbying that might have to span years and involve a broad alignment of diverse stakeholders. This blog post regarding how Medicaid expansion finally succeeded in NC might offer a roadmap.
As we’ve noted numerous times, with control of the NC General Assembly firmly in Republican control, Raleigh elected officials must be mindful in using its regulatory powers so as not to draw attention from State legislators. Here is yet another example from The Assembly of what can happen when a legislator “thinks” a city has gone “too far.”
One of RaleighForward’s goals is to help inform Raleigh residents and arm them with information that can help individuals understand and influence the local policy making process. Here is an interesting article exploring another civic education opportunity: A New Place to Learn Civics: The Workplace.
An often-overlooked constraint on cities land use and zoning authority is the “regulatory insulation” provided by homeowner’s associations. Here is an informative video from CNBC explaining the issue.
A new Biden Administration effort to free-up resources to convert office buildings into residences, via Bloomberg.
Opinion: “America’s Big Tech Cities are thriving, Not Dying.” Via the Washington Post.
As Raleigh struggles with increasing homelessness, this article from Governing explores how Houston has become a model for how to effectively reduce homelessness is instructive.
“America’s Neighborhoods are in Trouble” according to this excerpt from the book of the same name that explores how social decay is harming America’s social infrastructure, via Bloomberg.
Speaking of social infrastructure, the book “Palaces for the People” by Erik Klinenberg offers a prescription for how to reconnect communities and reduce inequality by rebuilding social infrastructure.
From the Data Department:
Wake County’s median real estate price increased in October by $2,500 to $452,500, according to the Wake County Register of Deeds. And a related article about soaring home prices from WRAL.
Rising home prices and increasing interest rates are combining to drive housing affordability to new lows per the Atlanta Fed Tracking Tool.
Innovative Housing Affordability Alert:
Asheville has an innovative program that provides incentive grants to developers to encourage the inclusion of affordable housing in new developments. Because it is “innovative,” it might also push the bounds of Asheville’s statutory authority.
More Missing Middle Litigation:Arlington, VA enacted Missing Middle reforms similar to Raleigh’s efforts. And like Raleigh, residents are suing to overturn the reforms.