Solving the Housing Crisis: A Symposium

The supply and affordability of housing in America has become an issue in countless cities, regions, and states. Many attribute the soaring price of housing as a litmus test that shapes citizens’ perceptions and attitudes about the future direction of their country. If home ownership is not a realistic possibility during their working years, the American Dream is no longer possible. Yet, the reasons for the housing supply problem are not unknown. We can disagree on some reasons and how to rank them according to their contributions to our housing situation, but we have access to a set of proposals to take us out of the current unsatisfactory residential housing conundrum. The problem seemingly is a matter of will to change our current regulatory course and also overcome ideology in some instances, namely environmental protection and an insistence on a green future to the detriment of what consumers want and can afford.