Affordable housing and its availability are crucial policy questions for the sustained and orderly growth of Indian cities. Deregulation of strict housing regulations has been proposed as one measure that can increase housing affordability. Several Indian cities are slowly relaxing building restrictions, allowing for taller buildings that may occupy more land than was permissible earlier. However, there is a dearth of work that studies the effect these relaxations have on affordability.
Drawing on granular data from Mumbai, Sahil Gandhi and Geetika Nagpal’s recent paper—Scaling Heights: Affordability Implications of Zoning Deregulation in India, investigates whether relaxing zoning regulation leads to reduced prices and a substantial increase in housing units. The authors provide an empirical analysis of how land-use regulations affect the housing market in the city, offering critical insights for policy formulation and implementation.
Carnegie India is delighted to invite you to the upcoming Political Economy Seminar—How Do Zoning Regulations Affect Housing Affordability in India? Sahil Gandhi will present the findings from the paper, following which, we will have comments from the discussant Jagan Shah, CEO, The Infravision Foundation. The seminar will conclude with an open discussion.
