Larson Avery

Larson Avery is a Master of Urban and Regional Planning student with a concentration in transportation policy and planning. Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Larson graduated from Harvard College with a degree in government and economics. He has interned with the Culver City Department of Transportation and Spy Pond Partners, a transportation consultancy.

Larson is interested in the intersection of government regulation, real estate markets and individual economic outcomes. In his free time Larson enjoys cycling, reading novels and bird watching.

Project Overview

My thesis explores how Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ) designation has affected housing construction in Los Angeles in the past 30 years. Los Angeles City Planning staff and local HPOZ boards approve or deny building projects to ensure they protect and complement the character of historic neighborhoods. Across L.A., there are 35 such zones, comprising over 2% of all parcels.

Since the 1980s, burdensome regulation and procedural barriers have prevented housing supply from keeping up with demand in coastal cities like Los Angeles. The procedural hurdles of getting HPOZ approval, and the power of HPOZ boards to reject projects, may disincentivize new housing within their borders. Researching the relationship between local historic districts and housing construction will help policymakers better assess costs and benefits of preservation programs.

Why is this topic, specifically, important to you?

I grew up in a historic district in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The neighborhood was beautiful and connected the city with its Pre-Revolutionary War history. Yet, as much of the Lewis Center’s recent research suggests, land use rules aiming to preserve a city’s built environment can impose significant societal costs. Both the Boston and Los Angeles regions have unignorable housing shortages exacerbated by complex regulation and permitting processes. I want to explore what historic preservation looks like in other cities, and better understand how the rules that maintained the physical setting of my upbringing may be contributing to housing shortages, regional inequality, displacement and a cost of living crisis.

Who are the partners involved in this project and how will you be working with them?

I am working with professors José Loya, Paavo Monkkonen and Michael Manville to refine my research design and measure causal links between historic preservation and housing construction.

How do you hope that this project will impact the field moving forward?

This study will be the first to quantitatively estimate HPOZs’ impact on housing development in Los Angeles. Studies in New York City and the Atlanta region found moderate reductions in housing construction in neighborhoods after they were designated historic. However, their results are not generalizable. Specific regulatory, cultural, historic and economic factors may influence the connection between these variables. This research will help Los Angeles and California lawmakers determine the HPOZ program’s impact on the housing market and housing affordability within the city. More broadly, its findings will contribute to a limited national literature on the connection between preservation districts and housing supply.