The Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley published a report examining the extent, correlations, and harmful effects of restrictive zoning in the Greater Los Angeles region. This study builds on prior research that describes the problem and extent of restrictive zoning in the San Francisco Bay Area. The study states that this research supports the prior theory that “restrictive zoning is a mechanism of opportunity hoarding, the channeling of critical resources and amenities into some communities and the denial of those assets and resources to other communities.” This study examines the percentage of single-family-only zoning in the jurisdiction, the distance of the jurisdiction from the central business district, performance on Regional Housing Need Assessment compliance, and the percentage of the jurisdiction that is designated by the Tax Credit Allocation Committee as “high opportunity.”
The study finds that 77.7 percent of residential land in Greater LA is exclusively reserved for single-family housing. In contrast, researchers also note that only 11.8 percent of total land is available for multi-family developments. Likewise, the study notes a strong relationship between jurisdictions with an extremely high degree of single-family-only zoned residential areas and the racial composition of those communities.