Ep 45: What Happened When Auckland Upzoned Everywhere with Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy

In 2016, Auckland, New Zealand did something nearly unprecedented in the English-speaking world: It upzoned the majority of land in the city, and not just for three or four units per parcel. They went much further than that, and by one estimate increased the legal capacity for housing in the city by 300%. The goal of the reform, known as the Auckland Unitary Plan, was to increase production of multifamily housing and slow or stop rapidly rising housing prices. Did they succeed? Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy has published several studies on the results approximately five years later, and the news is quite good. We talk through the details of what Auckland did and the impact it had, and the lessons it holds for other cities considering (or hoping for) similar reforms. Taking Auckland’s lead, New Zealand adopted even more aggressive housing reforms in 2021, and we discuss that too.