Local Innovation vs. Federal Innovation in Housing

Regulations and programs for housing exist at all levels of government in the United States. From local zoning codes, to statewide building codes, to federal funding programs – each level of government has a role to play in our current housing system. 

As changes sweep the federal government, with likely impacts in how we regulate and finance housing (and which government entities do so), it is worth noting that while such changes may reshape federal institutions, many local innovators will be able to continue operating just fine. Indeed, many of the innovative housing solutions we have highlighted through the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability were launched and are operated / funded at city or state levels. 

Like the old adage, “all real estate is local”, housing innovators often find success in piloting, launching, and scaling in a smaller setting before scaling their programs or helping other organizations launch similar programs.

For example, several of the best innovators we’ve seen at a local or state level include:

• Creative permitting programs by cities – Both the City of Boston’s Residential Conversion Program (2025 Ivory Prize finalist) and the City of San Diego’s ADU Bonus Program (2024 Ivory Prize winner) illustrate the creativity and ownership that cities have in launching new programs to accelerate the creation of certain housing types (in these cases, adaptive reuse for office buildings and accessory dwelling units). Zoning and permitting are often regulated at the city level, making programs such as these likely to continue without change even as the federal system may shift.

• Public financing for mixed-income housing by cities and counties – The work of the Center for Public Enterprise (2025 Ivory Prize finalist) and the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County, Maryland (2024 Ivory Prize winner) demonstrate the feasibility of creating locally-based, locally-financed revolving loan funds for the production of new, mixed-income housing units. While housing financial systems may be regulated at a federal level and other financial products, such as permanent financing, may be impacted by federal changes, the revolving loan fund model and the work of both organizations shows how much can be accomplished by cities and counties on their own.

• Community engagement to increase first-time developers and homeownership – Many of the most successful housing innovations are launched at a local level because they are close to the communities they serve. For example, FirstRepair (2024 Ivory Prize winner), which supports communities around the country in creating reparations programs using targeted housing interventions based on documented discrimination from redlining practices, is inherently local to the communities and residents they serve. The Incremental Development Alliance (2025 Ivory Prize finalist) has worked with thousands of small real estate developers around the country to help them gain the skills to build housing in their communities – often in small, infill development locations such as new duplexes or small apartments. These types of innovations have 

Our 172 innovative and ambitious Ivory Prize finalists and winners are changing the housing industry, and are doing so in communities across the country. And the fact that they are locally regulated and often locally funded means that they have the opportunity to continue to do their work well, even as federal changes may reshape parts of the industry.