To address the national housing crisis, we must confront exclusionary zoning

The United States is suffering from three interconnected crises that have brought it to an inflection point: unprecedented levels of income inequality, resurgent racial animus, and a worsening housing crisis. 

To address our nation’s staggering racial wealth gap — and our current housing crisis — we must confront the exclusionary zoning practices that limit housing opportunities across most of the country’s large metropolitan areas. 

Ever since explicit racial zoning laws were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1917, segregationists have utilized land use zoning to accomplish similar aims. By limiting the size and type of buildings that can be built in a particular locality, exclusionary zoning limits the ability of lower-income people and people of color to reside in certain communities. This is nothing short of racial segregation by proxy.

This creates a vicious cycle in which these populations are forced to live in more segregated areas with limited access to quality education, health care, and other services. Generations of exclusionary policies have exacerbated the national housing affordability crisis by artificially driving up housing prices in suburban communities.

In my home state of New Jersey, however, exclusionary zoning was declared unconstitutional by our state supreme court nearly 50 years ago. With the groundbreaking Mount Laurel decision, the New Jersey’s highest court ruled that every municipality in the state has an affirmative obligation to provide their “fair share” of the region’s affordable housing.   

The Mount Laurel decision upended decades of exclusionary zoning that drove residential segregation and is often compared to the historic decision in Brown v. Board of Education. The Mount Laurel Doctrine has helped to break down patterns of segregation and has promoted greater economic integration in New Jersey. 

A new report from the Fair Share Housing Center finds that New Jersey’s rate of affordable housing production has doubled since 2015, creating more than 21,000 deed-restricted affordable homes in historically exclusionary communities. The success we’ve seen in New Jersey can serve as a model for how to dismantle residential segregation and address our national housing crisis.

Research shows that integration isn’t just an end unto itself. Families who live in integrated communities have better health outcomes. They are more likely to be employed in jobs that pay better. And their children have access to higher-quality educational opportunities. 

Affordable housing doesn’t just improve the lives of its residents — it improves all of our lives. Exclusionary zoning has counterproductive effects on our entire society — restricting labor mobility and leading to significant declines in overall economic growth.

Exclusionary zoning has deprived many states of the housing investment that New Jersey is benefiting from — as well as the jobs and amenities that come with that housing.

This moment demands that we think big. While affordable housing developers, housing and homeless organizations, and sympathetic legislators have put heroic efforts into individual projects, a lasting solution must be scaled to meet the systemic challenges faced in states and municipalities all across the U.S. At a time when housing is more expensive than ever, we need strong action to build on what New Jersey has learned.  

Over the course of New Jersey’s history, fair housing policies have been integral in making our state more inclusive. It is now more incumbent than ever that governments, advocates, and residents across the U.S. make a concerted effort to break down racial and economic exclusion in housing. 

The actions we take to address our deepening housing crisis will shape our nation for generations to come. Rather than reverting back to our segregationist roots, this is a critical moment in history that demands we live up to our commitment to be a land of equality for all. 

Bonnie Watson Coleman represents New Jersey’s 12th District.