Post

A lot of people assume that the housing market circa 1975-2005, when urban housing was cheap even without new development thanks to rapid sprawl and white flight, is the natural state of the world and not an historically anomalous period shaped by housing and transportation policy choices.

This unquestioned assumption leads people to some very weird conclusions, like the idea that investment in formerly-redlined neighborhoods is bad because it changes the character of the community, or that fair housing efforts to open up the suburbs are harmful because they disperse voters of color.