This paper examines the Portland experience as America’s most widely regarded example of urban sustainability. It suggests that appearances are deceptive. It compares some characteristics of development in Portland with similar trends in Los Angeles, not known as an exemplar of...

This study evaluates the effects of GSE mortgage purchase activity on homeownership and housingconditions among communities that are the focus of the 1992 GSE Act and the HUD affordablehousing goals. To identify GSE effects, the test framework exploits differences in the definition...

There is a seeming paradox about the "affordable housing goals": GSE activities in targeted communities have increased under the goals but there has been little measurable improvement in housing market conditions in these communities. This paper seeks to reconcile this paradox by focusing on...

This paper examines whether CRA incentives were influential regarding the large increase in lending to lower-income communities through the 1990s and early 2000s. The approach capitalizes on the fact that, because the CRA does not apply to all lenders in all locations, the regulations establish...

While the subprime mortgage loan product clearly expands access to credit, concerns have been raised about its costs, particularly to lower-income and minority populations. This paper examines whether GSE loan purchase activities might serve as an effective vehicle for mitigating these costs....

This paper seeks to address questions about both the need for the CommunityReinvestment Act (CRA) and its efficiency. Using data from a recent survey of theperformance and profitability of CRA-related lending activities, three main conclusionsemerge. First, there is evidence that a majority of...

Many local governments are adopting inclusionary zoning (IZ) as a means of producing affordable housing without direct public subsidies. In this paper, we use panel data on IZ in the San Francisco metropolitan area and Suburban Boston to analyze how much affordable housing the programs produce...

Lenders have increasingly responded to regulatory and public pressures to provide credit to lower-income and minority communities by entering into CRA agreements, which typically involve pledges to extend a certain volume of lending to targeted groups and communities. This paper considers the...