5 Reforms for Cities to Increase Affordability
Salim Furth, senior research fellow at Mercatus Center at George Mason University, discusses barriers to building more affordable communities and highlights a few easy-to-implement solutions to alleviate housing affordability issues.
Mar122021
Image courtesy of George Mason University
When the pandemic hit, the U.S. was already going through a major affordability crisis. The rising cost of living and continuously growing income disparity have led to millions of Americans being priced out of the housing market.
The solution to a more affordable housing market seems to be simple: more housing. But the barriers to building more affordable properties, however, seem to be relentlessly increasing instead of disappearing. High land and construction costs, outdated zoning regulations, and slow and burdensome permitting and approval systems are some of the challenges developers usually deal with.