Affordable Housing, Distribution of Powers and Economic Crisis in the United States

Abstract

This paper considers the history of affordable housing in the Unites States, and discusses the further leadership role that state and local governments can play in meeting the affordable housing needs of communities by using their authority to implement effective and creative land use planning and zoning techniques, especially in the light of the current economic situation. State-level approaches to addressing affordable housing are considered and the paper outlines innovative solutions that may be offered by local governments through the implementation of available land use and community development tools to quickly respond to the immediate affordable housing problems facing America. Although meeting the affordable housing needs of all Americans requires cooperation and collaboration between all levels of government, local governments may be particularly poised to quickly respond to the immediate community-based housing challenges through their ability to engage in community planning and to enact zoning and other land use controls to implement these community-based plans. The paper also shows how existing dynamic land use regulatory techniques can be used to a great extent today by municipalities in the United States to promote affordable housing, even without direct municipal spending.