Reforming Housing Policy, Regional Deliberation, and Governance

Problem, research strategy, and findings Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) have rarely taken on equity or housing agendas in the United States; rather, structural and political conditions have allowed for regional governance to be characterized by interjurisdictional competition or center on economic development goals. Expanding on research examining the contentious implementation of state housing reforms, I compared the processes through which the Bay Area and Southern California have recently formulated and implemented their regional housing allocations. Centering on public meetings held by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to determine their sixth-cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) methodologies, I investigated how distinct public deliberation processes are shaping housing policy implementation and regional governance. Discussions and outcomes were heavily influenced by state-level reforms pushing regions to promote desegregation and housing development in high-resource areas. Yet as regional stakeholders grappled with competing demands such as transit and employment access and environmental risks, tensions and misalignments among elected officials, planners, and members of the public erupted. This was particularly prominent in Southern California, where stakeholder input was limited to public comment and only elected representatives had voting power. In contrast, ABAG’s Housing Methodology Committee (HMC) had more than 30 voting members, including elected officials, planning staff, and more than a dozen regional stakeholders.Takeaway for practice Such plural inclusion aligned HMC and state goals, better representing regional and societal interests instead of localized and private ones. The role of planners in these processes differed considerably as well, with Bay Area staff directly shaping policy and outcomes by leading discussions and exercising voting power.