
Warley (1917), city planners remained capable of segregating via indirect methods. In the subsequent decades, some zoning laws have been used to discriminate against people of color and to maintain property prices in suburban and, more recently, urban neighborhoods.Īfter the United States Supreme Court banned the use of explicit race-based zoning in Buchanan v. The origins of such laws date back to the nineteenth century, as many cities were concerned about fire hazards as well as light-and-air regulations. Common examples include minimum lot size requirements, minimum square footage requirements, prohibitions on multi-family homes, and limits on the height of buildings. This blog focuses on one of these policies: exclusionary zoning laws, which have played a role in causing racial disparities in the housing market.Įxclusionary zoning laws place restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a particular neighborhood. But numerous policies have systemically discriminated against Black families who wish to pursue that path. Families who can purchase their own home in the neighborhood of their choice at a fair price and see the value of their home grow over time do better economically in the long run. One area that is particularly important for economic well-being and wealth accumulation is housing.

Many of these policies and practices have long-term impacts-from education to employment to business ownership to housing-that must be addressed.

Indeed, policies and practices exist today that are seemingly non-discriminatory on their face but still negatively affect many families of color, especially Black families. The day has evolved into a celebration of emancipation more generally, and while the country acknowledges the progress that has been made, it is imperative to not lose sight of the fact that we still have much work to do to address the vestiges of slavery and historic discrimination.
White house and black market free#
This Saturday, the nation recognizes Juneteenth, which marks the day a Major General of the Union Army arrived in Galveston, Texas to enforce the Emancipation Proclamation, and free the last enslaved Black people in Texas from bondage. By Chair Cecilia Rouse, Jared Bernstein, Helen Knudsen, and Jeffery Zhang
