Beyond zoning reform

In an op-ed for The Hill, Penn IUR Faculty Fellows Ben Keys (The Wharton School) and Vincent Reina (University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design) argue that today’s housing affordability crisis is the predictable outcome of policy choices made in the wake of the 2008 foreclosure crisis, not simply the result of zoning constraints.

We must confront the structural barriers — financing, regulations and politics — in ways that ensure we accelerate affordable housing supply now and not dig ourselves into another hole.

If we want young people to build wealth, families to find stability, and communities to thrive, we can’t let this crisis go to waste again. This next housing boom should be built on expanding opportunity.