Zoning and Building Regulations

it's not just zoning that makes it hard to build--it's building codes and environmental regulations

Devil's advocate: without regulations and permits, how do we know that what you're building isn't a nuisance etc. etc.?

Supply is 100% constrained by regulation. SF (and every other city) requires a permit to build. Go try to get a permit to build something in sf. I guarantee you’ll find a hundred different blockers including if any of your neighbors would like to object. (They will)

It's the regulations that stop you building more places that are the issue : - )

Its definitely local regulations.In SF for example, even after a housing project is approved, it can be challenged at any point for any reason by the community or politicians. Even projects that meet all regulations can be rejected for any reason, usually that vibes are bad. I think over half of SF is some kind of historical district. Way too much is zoned for SFHs in the city limits. etc.It's little wonder why housing projects are so expensive in cities that have such strong NIMBYs.

My understanding is that NIMBYism also takes the form of adding multiple barriers to changing the neighborhood. Environmental permit, safety permit, approving architectural proposals prior to implementation, limitations on who does the construction, how the materials are sourced, approvals on construction times and schedules, etc. The people building it might need to hire lawyers to draft proposals formally to local committees to do multiple rounds of approval at multiple stages. These all have

It is very difficult to build anything in SF. The city doesn't have any available land, therefore you need to demolish existing structures and build higher. There is a loud and vocal community of activists that refuse to allow new construction because of gentrification. Additionally, many won't allow retail businesses that are not local. SF prevents retail chains of a certain size in some neighborhoods. Also, the city has a law that allows any resident to challenge a change of use perm

Lots of zoning problems over there. They'd probably do anything they could (e.g., finance a builder) to get stuff constructed out there.

The zoning and permitting regulations prevent you from building reasonably on land that you already own. There are plenty of wealthy individuals and developers in San Francisco who would love to tear down two or three shabby Victorian houses to put up a five-story 20-unit condo if they could only get the project approved.San Francisco in particular makes it extremely easy for neighborhood residents to impede projects that would be automatically approved in any other city [1, 2]. This is why n

In the US, you also need building permit or zoning approval for construction, if it is refused you can't easily go "above" them, unless you take legal action, which is prohibitively expensive. So I don't get why you think your system is somehow better?