Housing reform could improve access to good schools

New research from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland will examine whether zoning reforms can improve educational equity.

The study, funded by a Spencer Foundation Racial Equity Research Grant, will focus on migration patterns following 2016 upzoning changes, which saw Auckland rezone three-quarters of its residential land for medium- and high-density housing.

The project will build on preliminary research indicating that the 2016 reforms enabled low-income households to move to higher socio-economic neighbourhoods. 

Principal investigators Dr Sam Stemper and Associate Professor Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy say the grant will enable data-intensive research linking zoning to residential mobility and children’s access to educational opportunities.

“Auckland’s 2016 zoning reform created a rare large-scale experiment that allows us to study how housing markets shape access to neighbourhoods and schools,” says Stemper.

“While upzoning is often discussed as a tool to improve housing affordability, its potential impact on educational equity has received much less attention.”

Zoning regulations, says Greenaway-McGrevy, often reinforce disparities by limiting high-income neighbourhoods to expensive detached homes, effectively excluding lower-income families.

“Removing such barriers through upzoning to allow more affordable housing types like townhouses or apartments offers a potential tool to improve educational access.”

Until Auckland's zoning reforms, no city had upzoned enough residential land to allow researchers to test whether large-scale zoning changes could meaningfully influence educational opportunities.

The research team, which also includes Business School doctoral candidate Jia Liu, will use comprehensive data and quantitative geospatial analysis to track family migration patterns and assess whether school-aged young people gained access to higher-performing schools.