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Q&A
Factors contributing to uneven housing development across NYC neighborhoods
0:20:27
·
95 sec
Chair Richard R. Buery Jr. asks Professor Vicki Been about the reasons behind the uneven distribution of housing development across different neighborhoods. Professor Been explains that low-density neighborhoods often resist growth due to infrastructure concerns, historical downzoning, and homeowner opposition.
- Neighborhoods providing less housing are often low-density areas lacking sufficient school, transit, or sewage infrastructure.
- Past downzoning efforts limit the potential for new development in these areas.
- Higher rates of homeownership correlate with increased concern about property values and resistance to change.
- Been characterizes this disparity as a major source of unfairness.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
0:20:27
You talked about, the differential burdens or respond different neighborhoods taking on different parts of the city housing burden.
0:20:34
Mhmm.
0:20:35
Can you elaborate more on that dynamic?
0:20:38
And, and if you could, what are some of the driving factors that lead to different communities taking on more or less responsibility for the city's housing needs?
Vicki Been
0:20:47
So the the neighborhoods that have traditionally provided less housing, growth are often the low density neighborhoods.
0:20:57
Those low density neighborhoods complain that they don't have the schools, the trans the transportation infrastructure, though, sometimes the sewage infrastructure to do that.
0:21:08
So, again, it requires enormous coordination to bring that all online and and get that in in in place.
0:21:15
But in many cases I mean, remember that in the early two thousands, there was a lot of downzoning in those neighborhoods.
0:21:21
And so they're just not zoned to allow more development and trying to get a rezoning through to up that, as the latest round on City of Yes showed, is extraordinarily difficult.
0:21:35
Right?
0:21:36
So all of that comes into play.
0:21:38
And there's just, you know, many of those neighborhoods have higher rates of homeownership than some of the other neighborhoods, and, the homeowners are particularly concerned about their housing values, those kinds of issues.
0:21:53
And so it is a complex problem, but it is a major source of unfairness.
Richard R. Buery Jr.
0:22:01
Thank you.
0:22:01
Let me just have one more question.