About the Land Use Program
Sustainable land use is central to achieving our long-term environmental goals, as well as improving quality-of-life and economic outcomes. Federal, state and local officials all have a role to play in promoting advance land use planning for critical infrastructure, such as our transportation systems, renewable energy and other clean technology siting, and downtown-style development that boosts walking, biking, and transit usage.
Our Land Use program examines the most promising law and policy solutions to encourage sustainable land use, assesses the costs and benefits of policies to inform land use decision-making, and promotes dialogue among broad groups of development stakeholders.
Examining Entitlement to Understand Policy and Process in California
California’s housing affordability crisis has rightly received a great deal of attention. To help understand whether CEQA or local land-use law constrain housing development, we collected data on all residential development projects (of more than five units) over a three-year period in five Bay Area cities.
In a series of reports, policy briefs, and articles we analyze these data and the applicable law.
Ethan Elkind delivers a lecture at UCLA, on the past and future of LA’s metro rail.
Recent Publications
- Redefining Value and Risk in Agriculture (December 2020)
- Policy Brief: Enhancing Local Land Use Data (June 2019)
- Examining the Local Land Use Entitlement Process in California to Inform Policy and Process (Feb 2019)
- A New Solar Landscape: Improving County-Level Landscape Planning for Utility-Scale Solar PV Facilities (Nov 2018)
- Implementing SB 743: An Analysis of Vehicle Miles Traveled Banking and Exchange Frameworks (Oct 2018)