New MIT study suggests the Yimby narrative on housing is wrong

Higher density leads to higher prices, not more affordability, a review of an upzoning experiment in Chicago shows.

The Yimby narrative – that higher density in US cities will bring down housing prices – doesn’t work in real life, a dramatic new study from an MIT doctoral student suggests.

In fact, the study, released today, shows that – at least in Chicago, where author Yonah Freemark complied the data – upzoning for greater density leads to increased housing costs.

There’s no evidence in the study that allowing greater density in areas close to transit actually leads to more construction – certainly not to the construction of affordable units.

Affordability in the areas where the city allowed increased density declined, he reports.

To Learn More Visit:

https://48hills.org/2019/01/yimby-narrative-wrong/

To See the MIT Study Visit:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078087418824672?journalCode=uarb