A bad idea continues to spread:
The idea of asking developers to include affordable housing as a component of their broader development plans is not “a foreign concept for Philadelphia,” Mayor Street says. As a bevy of nonprofit groups today prepares a campaign for what they call “inclusionary housing,” Street says he’s open to the idea of codifying what has been an inconsistent approach. “I think we are in a little better position to consider a project like this today than in the past,” Street said. “We now have huge market-rate housing going up and a lot of construction and development all over the place, and it gives us an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, how about putting something in the till for affordable housing?’ “
Check out Reason’s studies on inclusionary zoning (here and here) to discover the severe, unintended consequences that have stemmed from several California cities’ forays into this misguided affordable housing policy.