Author: Genevieve Uslander

There is a certain level of disbelief when learning about the blatant racism that has infiltrated and influenced housing policy in the United States. It seems unfathomable and too ludicrous to be true. Because it has been so aggressive and obvious, it is even harder to understand and therefore try and reconcile with. Upon reading People, Place and Opportunity by Jason Reece, something becomes increasingly clear; opportunity has a geographic footprint that is undeniable and quite visible. Access to just housing with quality schools, safety, transportation, nearby employment and access to fresh food are all under the umbrella of opportunity. The link need not be made more apparent.

There are many types of discrimination and segregation related to housing and access to housing that keeps low-income people of color in spaces where opportunity is extremely limited. The attempts to keep neighborhoods racially homogeneous has not only been a social movement, but it has affected policy and been a legal debate There is both overtly racist housing policy and policy that is seemingly non-discriminatory. One part of the discourse that has tried to keep neighborhoods exclusively white is exclusionary zoning. Exclusionary zoning is land use policy that desires to maintain and perpetuate segregation. For example, in attempts to ban multi-family development or minimize lot sizes, low-income people of color are essentially denied the opportunity to find affordable housing in the suburbs. These restrictions highlight the differences and affects of de jure segregation versus de facto segregation. De jure segregation is segregation ordained by law, while de facto segregation demonstrates the social reality of segregation and or discrimination in a certain location. For example, de jure segregation could be a restrictive covenant while de facto could be an elementary school with almost an exclusively black student body.

Exclusionary zoning is a modern day problem that is pervasive and prevalent; it is manifested in many different ways such as low-density zoning limits or fiscal zoning. In policy that dictates land use, there is an inherent inequality that influences geographic, social, economic and political opportunity.