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Can centralization, decentralization and welfare go together? The case of Massachusetts Affordable Housing Policy (Ch. 40B)

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  • Ravit Hananel

Abstract

The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Policy of 1969 (known as the ‘Anti-Snob Zoning Act’, or simply 40B), is one of the most admirable and controversial acts in the history of the state. It was intended to break through the exclusionary ‘snob’ zoning that was customary in United States suburbs at the time, and to open the suburbs to low- and moderate-income residents by encouraging the production of affordable housing statewide. The paper analyses 40B and the modifications it has undergone over the years in light of the relation between centralized state power and decentralized local government power with regard to planning. Understanding of the changes in local–state power relations can provide an explanation for the changes that have occurred over the years in implementing the law. The findings suggest that mutual learning, and understandings developed over the years among all involved, can provide the greatest benefit to low- and moderate-income residents.

Suggested Citation

  • Ravit Hananel, 2014. "Can centralization, decentralization and welfare go together? The case of Massachusetts Affordable Housing Policy (Ch. 40B)," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(12), pages 2487-2502, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:51:y:2014:i:12:p:2487-2502
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098013512877
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Quigley, John M., 2007. "Just Suppose: Housing Subsidies for Low Income Renters," Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy, Working Paper Series qt0n43z5d2, Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy.
    2. Iwan J Azis, 2008. "Institutional Constraints And Multiple Equilibria In Decentralization," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 22-33, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mualam, Nir, 2018. "Playing with Supertankers: Centralization in Land Use Planning in Israel — A National Experiment Underway," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 269-283.
    2. Hananel, Ravit & Berechman, Joseph, 2016. "Justice and transportation decision-making: The capabilities approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 78-85.
    3. Gurran, Nicole & Gilbert, Catherine & Gibb, Kenneth & van den Nouwelant, Ryan & James, Amity & Phibbs, Peter & Hayward, Richard Donald, 2018. "Supporting affordable housing supply: inclusionary planning in new and renewing communities," SocArXiv 3mj8c, Center for Open Science.
    4. Ravit Hananel, 2017. "From central to marginal: The trajectory of Israel’s public-housing policy," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(11), pages 2432-2447, August.
    5. Ioan Sebastian Jucu & Sorina Voiculescu, 2020. "Abandoned Places and Urban Marginalized Sites in Lugoj Municipality, Three Decades after Romania’s State-Socialist Collapse," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-26, September.
    6. Tomás Cox & Ricardo Hurtubia, 2022. "Compact development and preferences for social mixing in location choices: Results from revealed preferences in Santiago, Chile," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 246-269, January.
    7. Rachel Friedman & Gillad Rosen, 2020. "The face of affordable housing in a neoliberal paradigm," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(5), pages 959-975, April.
    8. Ravit Hananel, 2021. "Bills, Rights and Housing Policy: The Evolution of Israel’s Seven-Decade Housing-Related Bills," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, April.

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