Inclusionary Zoning to Support Affordable Housing

Abstract

Inclusionary zoning (IZ), also known as inclusionary housing or incentive zoning, is a class of policies that make use of land-use planning and zoning regimes to mandate or encourage the production of affordable housing from market-rate housing developers. The structure of programmes varies greatly within and across countries. IZ programmes are most common in the United States, but similar types of policies have also been adopted internationally. There exists little systematic research on the impact of these programmes on affordable housing production and local housing markets. Still, IZ has become a well-known and politically viable tool for locally driven social housing production.