This thesis examines the Louisiana legislature's justifications for supporting inclusionary zoning to address the shortage in affordable housing since hurricane Katrina and compares the model ordinance, passed in 2007, to ordinances in San Francisco, Denver, and San Diego. These large city ordinances offer an assessment of older versus newer ordinances as well as strict versus lenient provisions within a mandatory ordinance. This thesis acknowledges the model ordinance is strong and accepts its recommendation to convene a housing task force to study implementation in New Orleans. In order to maximize the benefits of inclusionary zoning this task force should be convened quickly to undertake local housing market research to determine the right set-aside, threshold, and incentives to create a strong mandatory ordinance. This group must also focus on implementing key model ordinance provisions like setting aside units for very low-, low- and moderate-income households within each development and determining the ideal density bonus.