California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author: Nicholas Marantz

Contractor: University of California, Irvine

Sub-contractors: University of California, Berkeley

Contract Number: 20SCT009

Project Status: Active

Relevant CARB Programs: Sustainable Communities & Climate Protection Program

Topic Areas: Sustainable Communities, Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Reduction & Climate Goals, Land Use & Transportation Research, Climate Change

Research Summary:

This project aims to identify where healthy, high-opportunity (HHO) areas and transportation-efficient areas are located in California, to evaluate the potential for new housing development in those areas, to identify policy levers to promote development, and to assess implications for social and racial equity. Task 1 will provide relevant background, synthesizing prior research on identifying HHO and transportation-efficient areas, as well as summarizing research and proposed legislation concerning laws and regulations related to infill housing development in California. Task 2 will use existing datasets to assess the potential for housing development in transportation-efficient, HHO areas under existing conditions, and Task 3 will assess opportunities to increase the number and/or territorial extent of transportation-efficient, HHO areas in California and the development potential in those areas. Task 4 entails analysis of additional outcomes linked to State policies and investments intended to increase housing potential, including outcomes related to racial equity, desegregation, and housing affordability.

Keywords: affordable housing, infill housing, transportation and land use, sustainable communities, vehicle miles traveled (VMT), healthy-high opportunity, transportation efficient