Fair Share Policies Expand Neighborhood Access for Lower-Income Households

A recent article published in the Housing Policy Debate, titled “Can Fair Share Policies Expand Neighborhood Choice? Evidence From Bypassing Exclusionary Zoning Under Massachusetts Chapter 40B,” analyzes whether fair share housing policies expand neighborhood access for lower-income households. The study focuses on Massachusetts Chapter 40B, a policy enacted in 1969 that enables developers to bypass restrictive local zoning laws for projects that include affordable housing units in municipalities where less than 10% of units constitute affordable housing. The article finds that projects built under this policy are in neighborhoods with greater indicators of social mobility and healthier environments than neighborhoods where other types of affordable housing are located.  

To evaluate Chapter 40B’s outcomes, the researchers constructed a dataset of 40B properties and linked it to local zoning data to examine the extent to which development occurred in restrictive, low-density zoned areas. These data were also combined with datasets that contained measures of neighborhood social mobility and health. The authors compared the characteristics of neighborhoods with 40B developments to neighborhoods housing residents of other affordable housing programs, including Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units, and public housing. 

The study finds that 40B developments are in neighborhoods with better social mobility characteristics compared to other affordable housing programs. Compared to HCV, public housing, or LIHTC neighborhoods, 40B neighborhoods had poverty rates 13% to 23% lower, median incomes two to three times higher, and unemployment rates up to twice as low. Additionally, the share of children living in two-parent households, which some researchers consider an indicator of upward mobility and community stability, was 20% to 30% higher in 40B neighborhoods compared to the neighborhoods of developments produced through other affordable housing programs. 

Chapter 40B developments also tend to be located in neighborhoods with lower levels of all types of pollution exposure compared to neighborhoods where other affordable housing developments are concentrated. Unlike other subsidized housing developments, 40B projects are less frequently located near areas with large amounts of traffic, a known source of air pollution linked to asthma and other health issues. Life expectancy is also higher in 40B neighborhoods at 81.2 years, 1.5 to 3 years higher than in neighborhoods with other affordable housing.  

Exclusionary zoning has historically kept more affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods out of reach for low-income and non-white families through large lot sizes and low-density requirements, creating large financial barriers for equitable neighborhood integration. The authors identify the ability to bypass exclusionary zoning through 40B as a central mechanism for developments to be constructed in affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods with stringent zoning regulations. Neighborhoods with 40B developments had significantly more white residents, with the median neighborhood being 91% white, up to 33% more than neighborhoods with other types of affordable housing. Over half of affordable 40B projects were located in areas previously zoned for large-lot, single-family residences, a portion two to three times higher than other affordable housing programs.  

The study finds that fair share policies like Massachusetts Chapter 40B can be effective tools for expanding affordable housing access into higher-opportunity areas, offering substantially healthier environments and better social mobility compared to other affordable housing programs. The authors highlight the need for research into the demographics and outcomes of families living in 40B housing to evaluate the extent the program is reaching its goals of residential desegregation. The findings ultimately suggest that fair share policies could complement traditional affordable housing programs in promoting the equitable integration of low-income renters into exclusionary neighborhoods. 

Read the full report at: https://bit.ly/4jMbJ1o.