Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot
nytimes.com
Trey Gordner
1764 days ago
Major takeaways:
- 75% of urban land is zoned single-family
- This segregates housing along income (and therefore often racial) lines, limiting access to good schools for minorities
- Despite this, homeowners fend off changes with property tax/value arguments
- Future growth then results in gentrification, i.e. the forced departure of residents without political power.
Single-family zoning leaves much land off-limits to new housing, forcing new supply into poorer, minority communities or onto undeveloped land outside of cities.