Michael Lens, chair of the Luskin Undergraduate Program at UCLA, joined a NOTUS Perspectives panel to discuss the biggest improvements the U.S. needs in its housing policy — particularly the lack of affordable housing nationwide. The conversation centered on one key issue: the nation’s severe shortage of affordable housing, driven by restrictive zoning and local barriers to new development.

Lens proposed that in order to remove barriers to housing production and establish state-level uniform standards, power needs to shift from local governments to state governments, which are more removed from political backlash surrounding decisions regarding housing.

“Local governments are not typically motivated to allow more homes to be built in their backyards. Perverse incentives create bad policies…that result in poor housing production numbers throughout the country,” said Lens, a professor of urban planning and public policy.

Lens emphasized that reducing barriers to housing construction would also help those experiencing homelessness: “Once we reduce the barriers to building more homes, we can also better help those in need who cannot afford housing at any price,” he said.