Published In
Housing and Society
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2026
Subjects
Inclusionary housing, Inclusionary zoning, Evaluation, residents, power
Abstract
Inclusionary housing (IH) programs are a popular strategy for building affordable housing, incentivizing or requiring developers to provide housing at a below-market rate for people with lower incomes. But do we know how residents experience these policies? This paper explores how municipalities and external researchers evaluate inclusionary housing programs in the US, and whose perspectives are included in those evaluations. Employing VeneKlasen & Miller’s (2002) tripart model of power, which includes visible, hidden, and invisible dimensions, we analyze key informant interviews, municipal IH reports, and a systematic review of the literature, we find that few municipalities or researchers consider residents’ experiences in IH evaluations. Throughout, we find that few municipalities or researchers consider beneficiaries’ experiences in IH evaluations. While this study focuses on one kind of affordable housing, IH, findings may be relevant to anyone considering policy development and evaluation related to affordable housing. This paper highlights the need for additional IH evaluations prioritizing residents’ lived experiences, and provides recommendations to increase resident power in evaluation.
Rights
Copyright (c) 2026 The Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
DOI
10.1080/08882746.2026.2721222
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/45210
Citation Details
Halverson, S., & Thurber, A. (2026). ‘We create units, and then residents are on their own’: power in evaluation of Inclusionary Housing. Housing and Society, 1–17.