Housing's Long Shadow: What the New Federal Law Means for America The recent federal housing law has generated excitement among policymakers, but beneath its surface lies a more profound question: Can the United States learn from its own cities and states, which have been experimenting with innovative solutions to the housing crisis?
Economists and urban planners have long known that restrictive zoning laws and bureaucratic red tape drive up housing costs, exacerbate inequality, and contribute to climate change.
The concept of the "housing theory of everything" – coined by British writers John Myers, Sam Bowman, and Ben Southwood in 2021 – suggests a link between housing scarcity and societal problems such as slow economic growth and falling fertility rates.