Community Social Status, Suburban Growth, and Local Government Restrictions on Residential Development

Residential development restrictions among Southern California suburban jurisdictions are examined. The purpose of the analysis is to assess the relative importance of various measures of community status, partisanship, and growth as predictors of local policy to regulate residential development. Social status and growth rates appear to account for some of the interurisdictional variation in policy, although it is clear that excluded factors are also important. Several issues regarding the study of local development policy and what might affect findings from study to study are also addressed.