We Have Plenty of Land in the United States. But Can All of It Support Housing?
A recent article from The Wall Street Journal posits that “The U.S. Is Running Short of Land for Housing.” Land values in favorable locations are booming right now, and land owners across the country are, in some cases, making extremely high returns on their long-term holdings—so long as conditions enable their land to support development.
Such opportunities are, according to the article, very limited. The U.S. is filled with a lot of open space, and one might think that means we have plenty of space for housing. But in order to support housing, this author believes that land needs to be positioned in a few different ways.
So, what are the three major requirements, according to The Wall Street Journal, that enable development potential in any given plot of land—and what’s the Strong Towns take on this?
Additional Show Notes
“The U.S. Is Running Short of Land for Housing,” by Konrad Putzier, The Wall Street Journal (September 2022).
Cover image via Flickr.
Abby Newsham is the cohost of the Upzoned podcast. Abby is an urban design and planning consultant at Multistudio in Kansas City, Missouri. In her own community, she works to advance bottom-up strategies that enhance both private development and the public realm, and facilitates the ad-hoc Kansas City chapter of the Incremental Development Alliance. When she’s not geeking out over cities, Abby is an avid urban mountain biker (because: potholes), audiobook and podcast junkie, amateur rock climber, and guitarist. You can connect with Abby on Twitter at @abbykatkc.