INCLUSIONARY HOUSING IN CALIFORNIA AND NEW-JERSEY - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS

Many people have argued that inclusionary housing (IH) is a desirable land use strategy to address lower-income housing needs and to further the geographic dispersal of the lower-income population. In an attemp t to evaluate the effectiveness of IH, this article examines the exper iences of New Jersey and California, two states where IH has been appl ied frequently over an extended period. While the concept of regional ''fair share'' is central to both states' experiences, the origins of the programs, their applications, and their evolutions are quite dissi milar. IH originated in New Jersey from the famous Mount Laurel cases and in California from housing affordability crises and a legislativel y mandated housing element. The experiences of both states indicate th at IH can and should be part of an overall affordable housing strategy but that it is unlikely to become the core of such a strategy.