Cause of Housing Segregation: Result of Public Policies?

In many large American cities there is a growing phenomenon of the housing segregation between the rich, the poor and the middle class. This paper points out that such segregation is often caused by the public policies encouraging free market real estate development. The result is a disturbing urban condition in which it is geography of the power is directly reflective of housing locations. Such a condition contradicts the American ideal of democracy. This paper addressed the following factors which cause housing segregation; freeways, property tax deduction, zoning and ordinance, housing as a speculative investment commodity, and race and gender discrimination. The paper claims that the capitalism market system cannot remedy the problem, believes that every one is entitled to decent housing, and suggests that any solution will need to accommodate drastic non-capitalism strategies.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Intl.1995.85

Volume Editors
John K. Edwards