Introduction: The Housing Bias: The Last Privilege of Affluent Americans

Abstract

This is a book of real-life stories about how local laws shape the communities in which we live. It travels from a recently booming suburb in Virginia, to a big development project in New York City, to the rural outskirts of a metro area in Michigan, and to the busy residential streets of California, with other stops along the way. In particular, the book explores the argument that the laws that govern our use of land are biased in favor of one specific group of Americans—affluent, home-owning families—who least need the government’s help, and that newcomers, elderly people, and modest-income families bear the costs of this housing bias.