Minneapolis Looks to Build Out of Its Housing Crisis AP 9/1/18 The building boom
ID: 1139808 • Letter: M
Question
Minneapolis Looks to Build Out of Its Housing Crisis AP 9/1/18
The building boom is needed to accommodate steady growth in population in the area: The Twin Cities metro area has added more than 83,000 households since 2010, while building less than 64,000 new homes to accommodate those newcomers, according to the Metropolitan Council. As a result, it's not just new luxury apartments towering over Twin Cities residents, but rents, too, which continue to rise despite all the construction.
It's an issue across the state, but it's being especially felt in Minneapolis. During his recent budget address, Mayor Jacob Frey called the shortage of affordable housing in Minneapolis a crisis unlike the city has ever seen.
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The nonprofit news outlet MinnPost provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News.
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Frey is not alone in decrying the city's housing crunch. City planners, housing experts and other elected officials — including Gov. Mark Dayton — are all scrambling to find ways to alleviate the problem. But while they all agree on the solution — that we need to build, build, build to give people enough affordable places to live — what's less clear is how, and if, Minneapolis will be able to do that once theory meets practice; once political ideals meet political reality.
What do you think might be some reasons why the article ends by saying "what's less clear is how, and if, Minneapolis will be able to do that...
No one will want to build (supply) new houses, so there will not be enough supply
There will not be enough demand for the new homes once they are built
Increasing the supply of homes will increase the cost of housing
Space is limited and local zoning laws limit where new homes can be made. This makes it difficult for supply to increase.
Explanation / Answer
Correct option: (d) Space is limited and local zoning laws limit where new homes can be mqde. This makes it difficult for supply to increase.
Reason: The correct option is self explanatory. Since the zoning laws in Minneapolis restrict the areas where residential property can be built. This makes it difficult to build houses and increase supply of houses so as to bring rent prices down.