LOCAL GROWTH-CONTROL POLICY AND CHANGES IN COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS

Objective. Previous research has suggested that local residential grow th control policies might be exclusionary. This paper examines how suc h policies are related to changes in southern California cities from 1 980 to 1990. Methods. Lagged endogenous variable models of community c haracteristics are estimated to assess how policy is related to change in census measures of racial, ethnic, and social factors. Surveys wer e used to measure local policies. Results. The use of restrictive cont rols is found to be inversely related to the proportion of city reside nts black by 1990. Growth-controlling cities also display lower levels of unemployment in 1990. Controls are not found to constrain populati on growth. Conclusions. The results are consistent with literature sug gesting that cities are limited in their ability to restrict developme nt. The findings are also consistent with studies demonstrating that b lack suburbanization is not constrained by income, but by institutiona l practices. The results call attention to the need for research on lo cal factors affecting black suburbanization.