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11.03.2026 03:07
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We are working on building a subreddit where we will share not only our posts but hope to create a repository for all the research articles that @3underscores.bsky.social and @eaconner.bsky.social end up reading and using.
If folks have good econ papers on housing they want to share, post there!
The deal between Jersey City and Liberty Science Center that sold land for "just $10" is frequently misrepresented.
We looked into the project to see how this deal was actually structured to benefit Jersey City and the beloved local non-profit science center.
betterblocksnj.org/2026/03/10/b...
These can be found under our "advocacy" section on our website. We're starting with Jersey City and our local elected officials.
betterblocksnj.org/issues-track...
As a political advocacy group, we support candidates and make endorsements, but we need to keep our local electeds accountable too.
We are publishing issue trackers and scorecards to see how well local officials stack up on housing, transit, safe streets, and public amenities.
Also, join us next week at City Hall as there are some interesting ordinances on the agenda.
We hope to speak on topics of interest relatively early and then head out and grab a drink around 8:30 or so after brief public comment in support of 150 Bay Street.
betterblocksnj.org/2026/03/05/m...
You have not provided any data. We have provided several sources that include citations.
In fact, here is another one for good measure.
www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/mand...
Any regulatory "tax" on development is going to create dead weight lose due to distortionary effects of the tax. Funded programs reduce that distortion through PILOT agreements, for example.
Funded IZOs and voluntary programs produce more housing, including affordable housing, than unfunded mandatory IZOs.
This intuitively makes sense because a funded IZO makes up for the tax that an IZO imposes on development. And a voluntary program provides incentives to builders who make the deal.
You are responding to the wrong post and missing the other post that the paper cites to about funded and voluntary IZOs.
There are policies that allow for housing to be built in adverse conditions and then there are unfunded affordable housing mandates that get very little housing build in even ideal conditions.
Policies that get more housing built are clearly better than one that doesn't.
From the NJ Monitor newsletter on March 4, 2026: "Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced Tuesday that the state is trimming its plans for a new Newark Bay Bridge, plans that had been opposed by environmentalists and residents of Newark and Hudson County. The bridge connects Newark and Bayonne and carries motorists to and from the Holland Tunnel on the Turnpike extension. Sherrill’s predecessor had proposed replacing the aging, four-lane bridge with two spans totaling eight lanes. Sherrill’s announcement says it will remain four lanes with shoulders."
No article but according to Terrence McDonald, the Newark Bay Bridge widening is ded. It'll remain 4 lanes.
cc @turnpiketrap.org
Markets that don’t have unfunded IZOs continue to build despite the same adverse conditions so it seems we know unfunded IZOs are a strategy that is not particularly good at fixing any problem unless conditions are “just right” and housing costs are so high that the cross-subsidy covers. Not ideal.
Cite: realestatecenter.wertheim.fsu.edu/sites/g/file...
Lebret et al show the opposite — that voluntary programs build more income-restricted affordable housing at lower-cost to tax payers than funded mandatory in New York.
And funded mandatory and voluntary both build more housing than unfunded.
This intuitively makes sense because unfunded is a tax.
We gave examples from other unfunded IZOs and unfunded IZOs have this problem.
It is not a robust housing policy — and should not be adopted — if it cannot stand up to dynamic market conditions like interest rate and material cost changes.
Other policies do; those are better.
We will have more on better alternatives to an unfunded IZO in the coming weeks. First looking at a funded IZO and the voluntary, incentive-based affordable housing policies.
We also specifically look at Cambridge in our analysis. Zoning does not fix all the problems. Even with this massive citywide upzoning, Cambridge hopes to produce just 4,880 units over the next 15 years. That is about 325 units per year.
That is not a successful housing policy.
We can use a rough difference-in-differences analysis in just the Jersey City market.
Downtown we implemented a 15% mandatory IZO. It has build zero affordable housing units after four years.
Another neighborhood, Journal Square, uses bonus incentives and has hundreds of units under development.
We will be talking more about funded IZOs and voluntary programs in the coming weeks.
Many of these cities had IZO policies predating the inflationary environment following COVID-19.
It seems to be a flawed policy, if it cannot respond to changes in material costs and interest rates. Places that did not have unfunded IZOs continued to build and seen rents subsequently fall.
Also, to unlock Aspire funds, you need to issue a PILOT first so Newark was particularly good at doing this to get more state aid for some of its developments.
Jersey City only has two such projects but, then again, we have not issued many PILOTs in Jersey City over the past 9 years.
We would chalk it up to a combination of factors: 1) affordable housing requirements mean project finances need to be stabilized; 2) really costly regulatory environment in the New York-Newark-Jersey City MSA; and 3) projects are financed based on comps and some places haven't built in a while.
We should probably take a a detour and do a quick primer on PILOT agreements before moving on to funded IZOs.
Jersey City builds a lot without PILOT agreements! The city only issued 7 in the past 9 years and most (save Pompidou) to support affordable housing.
What we don't do is build much affordable housing downtown anymore due to the 15% unfunded IZO. Those projects require a PILOT.
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Does Unfunded Inclusionary Zoning Produce Affordable Housing at Scale? Part IV in our Housing Policy Series
The post discusses the challenges of…
https://betterblocksnj.org/2026/03/03/does-unfunded-inclusionary-zoning-produce-affordable-housing-at-scale-part-iv-in-our-housing-policy-series/
Other jurisdictions have passed bird-safe glass ordinances that are much more narrowly tailored than what Jersey City is contemplating.
Thank you for writing a on this topic.
We would ask that other subject-matter experts in the housing development and affordable housing space reach out to the Jersey City Council to inform them of their experience around costs in a jurisdiction with a bird-safe materials ordinance.
We got the city council to recognize the bird-glass ordinance has costs.
They amended to 1) lower height to 85 ft; 2) exempt projects that don’t require a site plan; and 3) exempt 100% affordable housing.
More affordable housing builders should reach out to educate council on ordinance costs.
It's going to be a busy night at the Jersey City Council.