Data Solutions Lab
Building Tools for Better Decisions
The Data Solutions Lab develops data-centric tools for housing and land use modeling, empowering policymakers, researchers, and advocates to make informed decisions regarding community housing.
Our first tool, the Housing Policy Simulator allows policymakers and researchers to simulate how various policy scenarios could affect the financial feasibility of housing development. It models all possible developments on a site, the financial feasibility of each potential development, and the likelihood of development for the most profitable option. Users can then toggle between policy options and compare the potential impact on future development. The Simulator now covers 20+ cities across the United States.
recent projects
New interactive tool: Explore housing policy impacts in Denver, Tucson, and San Diego
Simulator insights help Denver change its parking rules
Terner Labs and Morrison Institute for Public Policy partner to address Arizona’s housing shortage
Simulating Policy Effects on New Housing Supply in Los Angeles
Modeling Policy Impacts
Housing Policy Simulator
Test how raising height limits, changing the number of units allowed, or reducing setback requirements will independently and collectively affect what types of housing gets built at the neighborhood, city, or county-wide scale.
Understand financial feasibility and overall likelihood of development across building types, zoning types, or neighborhoods within an area. Identify bottlenecks and simulate how changes to fees, timelines, and incentives could spur certain types of housing development.
Measure how policy changes could differentially affect housing production close to transit, in communities at risk of displacement, in fire risk areas or across a host of other important considerations.
Simulators under construction
- Arcata, CA
- Charlotte, NC
- Charlottesville, VA
- Chula Vista, CA
- Denver, CO
- Escondido, CA
- Fairfax County
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Fort Collins, CO
- Fresno, CA
- Glendale, CA
- Long Beach, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Oceanside, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Pomona, CA
- Richmond, VA
- San Bernardino, CA
- San Diego, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- San Jose, CA
- San Mateo, CA
- Santa Monica, CA
- Stockton, CA
- Tucson, AZ
- Visalia, CA
partner with us
The Terner Housing Policy Simulator translates complex datasets into clear, actionable insights, enabling local leaders to test scenarios before implementing real-world reforms.
We piloted the Simulator in Los Angeles in 2022. Since then, we’ve worked with researchers and policymakers across the country, partnering with UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, the University of Denver's Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute, Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy and more.
Interested in using the Simulator to explore a policy question, or for a research project? We'd love to hear from you.