Throughout our nation’s history, our homes have been leading indicators of whether we have benefitted from society’s opportunities. From the earliest days when settlers sought land ownership that was not possible in caste-driven societies, to President Franklin Roosevelt’s declaration of “freedom from want,” to the G.I. Bill’s promise of single-family homes with yards, we have equated housing with with economic security and a strong middle class. Transportation policy and tax policies that incentivize home ownership have driven communities ever outward, expanding our metropolitan areas. Overwhelmingly, new development in the second half of the 20th century was organized around major roads and highways.

While housing stock in urban cores remained high density and mixed use, suburban building was low density, with homes, shops, and jobs in separate areas. Families with means and access to vehicles flocked to new suburban housing developments while lowincome families—predominantly minority—lacking transportation options, or locked out of certain neighborhoods by discriminatory real estate practices such as redlining and racial steering, remained in the under-resourced urban core. Influenced by past infrastructure and tax policy decisions, our preference for highways and new homeownership created a landscape where truly affordable housing is difficult for many Americans to obtain. Homebuyers in search of affordable housing and renters often are pushed into far-flung areas with higher transportation costs, driving up the overall cost of living.