Part 1 of a Training Series for Sustainable Growth at the Local Level: The Economics of Building More Homes.

Neighbors Welcome RI, in partnership with national experts, is offering a series of trainings that will dig into how housing impacts local communities. These trainings are open to all, but will be most valuable to Rhode Island public servants serving as elected or appointed leaders at the local level.

Part 1: The Economics of Building More Homes

In Partnership with Local Return and Strong Towns

*If this event is cost-prohibitive, please reach out to melodie@neighborswelcomeri.org for scholarship information.

*AICP members can earn 3 Certification Maintenance (CM) credits for this activity. More information about AICP’s CM program can be found at planning.org/cm.

Planners seldom have direct experience with the economics of land use planning, particularly as it relates to what actually gets built. Planning boards adopt regulations with the laudable intent of creating more housing choice and attainability or encouraging a lively downtown or making sure the town’s finances are robust. Then, when none of those things happen, they are puzzled and disappointed, when the reality is that what was coded for in those regulations is not financially possible. Development math is real and relentless and often opaque to those outside the industry.

In this three hour workshop, participants will explore:

• Housing affordability, Area Median Income (AMI), and what homes cost for people in different occupations.
• The real cost of building a starter home, including an inclusionary zoning exercise.
• Hands-on site planning exercises using traditional zoning rules.
• The economics of small-scale housing development, including construction costs, rents, sale prices, and property tax implications.
• Interactive zoning "stress tests" to understand what can and cannot be built under zoning codes.
• An introduction to form-based codes, building typologies, and practical zoning reforms communities can adopt to expand housing opportunities.

Lunch will be included

Objectives

• Explain development math in the context of local regulations
• Explore relationship between development patterns and municipal finances
• Show how relatively small changes can improve outcomes