As the most recent segment of our “Conversation” series, the Committee of 100 on April 23, 2025, hosted on event on the critical topics of housing and affordable housing, titled “Does Upzoning Produce More Affordable Housing?” University of British Columbia Professor Patrick Condon, author of “Broken City: Land Speculation, Inequality, and Urban Crisis,” was the featured speaker. According to Condon, adding new density inflates land price and does not reduce housing costs.? He suggested capturing the “Land Lift” for social benefit.
The additional speakers were Patrick McAnaney, Director of Development at Somerset Development Company and Yonah Freemark, Principal Research Associate in the Urban Institute’s Housing and Communities Division. McAnaney said that there currently is a perfect storm of problems in affordable housing, citing unpaid rents from lower income tenants, the end of cheap money and insurance issues. Both McAnaney and Freemark said that, for affordable housing, public subsidies are needed to close the gap between project costs and sources of funding.
The presentations were followed by a lively question period. The entire Conversation is posted on C100’a YouTube channel, available HERE.
