The Impact of Allowing More Housing Construction in Oakland

Over the past 50 years, increasingly strict zoning has reduced housing construction on big cities like New York and San Francisco. Scott: If Alexander were correct, then the price gap between the tightly controlled cities on the coast and the more laissez-faire cities of middle America should have shrunk over time. He says in his scenario, Oakland is better off. In order for it to be true that building more housing boosts housing prices, it must also be true that the quality of existing houses rises by more than enough to offset the increase in supply.