Nikelle Meade will present, "Unlocking Housing Potential: How Austin Passed the Nation’s Boldest Land Use Reforms," at the U.S. Housing & Community Development Conference on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
In just 18 months, the City of Austin has enacted some of the most transformative land use reforms in the country, paving the way for a substantial increase in housing supply in one of the nation’s most expensive markets. These bold changes—including eliminating parking minimums, expanding density bonus programs, reducing minimum lot sizes, allowing more units per lot in traditionally single-family areas, and upzoning near the future light rail—are reshaping the city's development landscape.
How did Austin secure a Council supermajority to pass these historic reforms? What key partnerships between real estate developers, housing advocates, City staff, and policymakers made this rapid progress possible? This panel will take a behind-the-scenes look at the strategies, negotiations, and coalition-building that drove these landmark policy shifts.
The discussion will also explore the immediate and long-term impacts of these changes, including how both market-rate and affordable housing developers—from large-scale builders to non-profits—are leveraging the new policies to accelerate housing production and affordability in the region.
For more information, visit the event website.