Liberal America’s Single-Family Hypocrisy

As the horrors of urban renewal came into view, more politically empowered, usually white communities rallied to get their neighborhoods “downzoned,” severely limiting the number of new housing units that could be built. But without zoning and land-use changes, public housing and more affordable market-rate apartments will remain illegal to build in the majority of neighborhoods close to public transit, jobs, good schools, and other amenities—precisely the kind of neighborhoods a compassionate society would want to give more people access to. It’s the same story for every single-family-home neighborhood: “There are a huge variety of needs in our housing market, and not all of them are met by either a single-family home or a six-story apartment building,” said Lisa Bender, president of the Minneapolis City Council and a major champion of the city’s 2040 plan.

Source: www.thenation.com