Glossary — Housing

These are the jargon, acronyms, and constructs a non-expert hits in the Housing whitepaper. Use this as a reading companion; the filing remains the source of truth.

• Buildable envelope
  The actual 3-D space a code lets you build — setbacks, height, floor area — not just the permitted unit count.
• Legalizing use ≠ legalizing a building
  Zoning that allows more homes on paper but leaves envelope and discretion intact can produce almost none.
• ADU
  Accessory dwelling unit — secondary home on a lot; California's prescriptive ADU rules are a positive production case.
• SB 9
  California lot-split / duplex reform cited as raising unit count without enough envelope — weak production.
• Middle housing
  Duplexes, triplexes, townhomes between single-family and large multifamily — Oregon's middle-housing law is a cited case.
• Upzoning / preemption
  Raising allowed density, sometimes by state override of local zoning.
• Housing shortage residual
  Publisher 'shortage' numbers built from assumed vacancy and pent-up households — sensitive to 1pp vacancy swings.
• LIHTC
  Low-Income Housing Tax Credit — main federal production subsidy for income-restricted apartments.
• HUD / public housing backlog
  Units already eligible for federal modernization funding — a stock the filing treats as actionable.
• Voucher (HCV)
  Housing Choice Voucher — demand-side rent subsidy, distinct from building new supply.
• Lot-size reform
  Cutting minimum lot size (e.g. Houston) to make more parcels buildable.
• BPS / HVS / ACS
  Building Permits Survey, Housing Vacancy Survey, American Community Survey — the measurement stack behind claims.

Scope note: docs/glossary-scope.md. Challenge a definition: [email protected].