San Diego speeds up approvals

As rents and homelessness climbed in San Diego over the last decade, Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order in January 2023 to speed up project approvals.

San Diego's permitting overhaul

To meet the new goal, San Diego streamlined work spread across multiple departments and filled vacant positions. Within a year, fully affordable projects cleared review in nine days on average.

San Diego's housing boom

In twenty twenty-three, San Diego marked its biggest year for housing permits since at least twenty oh five, with nine thousand six hundred ninety-one homes approved.That was an eighty-two percent jump from the year before.

Austin legalizes more homes

Austin, Texas legalized up to three homes on most single-family lots in late twenty twenty-three, then cut the minimum lot size from five thousand seven hundred fifty square feet to one thousand eight hundred in…

Austin's rents fall

Austin's changes made it easier to add homes, including backyard accessory dwelling units.Austin, which was becoming increasingly unaffordable, is now one of the few major American cities where asking rents have fallen since the pandemic.

Atlanta's housing strike force

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens rallied heads of every public agency affecting housing, from the housing authority and school system to the transit agency and land bank. He called it a housing strike force.

Atlanta's housing goal

The housing strike force has helped advance Atlanta's broader effort to build or preserve twenty thousand affordable homes by twenty thirty. Every housing deal now comes to the mayor's office.

Dickens on the strike force

Mayor Dickens said of the strike force: I just start pushing buttons to push them out the door. The goal is to move everything as fast as possible to keep down costs.

“I just start pushing buttons to push them out the door.”

Bloomberg funds thirty cities

On Tuesday, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced it will fund up to thirty cities to adopt one of those three housing ideas. Each will get between four hundred fifty thousand and seven hundred fifty thousand dollars directly.

First fifteen cities selected

Bloomberg has already selected the first fifteen cities, including Albuquerque, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Durham, Louisville, Miami, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and San Jose.

Two years of expert support

Each city will get two years of help from Accelerator for America and the digital consultancy Public Digital, also funded by Bloomberg. The grants are geared toward hiring city staff and buying new software.

Bloomberg's bet on ideas

James Anderson, who leads Bloomberg Philanthropies' government innovation program, said: You don't need everyone to be innovating everything all the time when there are good ideas in the world that are working.

“You don't need everyone to be innovating everything all the time when there are good ideas in the world that are working.”

Federal law aligns with reforms

The twenty-first Century ROAD to Housing Act became law in July. It creates competitive grants for cities that modernize their permitting, for preapproved housing plans, and that open up their public land.

Cleveland Mayor on federal programs

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said: We saw that with the Inflation Reduction Act. Even some of the aspects of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, there was a lot of red tape to get some of that…

“We saw that with the Inflation Reduction Act. Even some of the aspects of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, there was a lot of red tape to get some of that stuff across the finish line.”

Limits of the model

San Diego, Austin, and Atlanta all had substantial housing staff in place before they started.Many cities don't have the same depth to draw on.

Cleveland's capacity challenge

Cleveland Mayor Bibb said: Right now it's a capacity game for us. IT staff, planning staff, development staff, the list goes on. Policy staff as well.

“Right now it's a capacity game for us.”

Cities paired for mentorship

Bloomberg is running the thirty cities as a cohort, meaning each city will pair with the city that pioneered the idea.

Two-year targets for cities

Within two years, cities pursuing permitting reform are expected to cut their housing approval timelines in half. Those pursuing accessory dwelling units are expected to double their pipelines.

Scaling good ideas nationwide

The housing shortage runs into millions of homes, and these proposed strategies don't touch challenges like interest rates or the price of lumber.