Residential Inequality in the US (Essay Sample)

RESIDENTIAL INEQUALITIES IN THE US
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Abstract
Homeownership in the US exemplifies a longstanding thorny and controversial social problem, often pervading public discourses such as institutional racism, human rights, opportunities, and the American Dream. Solutions to homeownership have become essential in these debates through various proposals and politically motivated policies domiciled in both political divides. The paper analyses the homeownership crisis in the US, including trends in the recent history of US housing, housing inequalities, and its association with wealth creation. The paper is divided into sections, including an introduction and an analysis of the motivation for the research. Other sections include homeownership as a path to wealth creation, the recent history of homeownership, inequality of homeownership, implications of housing in wealth inequality, and policy recommendations and conclusions. Findings indicate a positive association between social inequalities in the US and historical housing inequalities, including patterns of redlining and entrenched segregation and systemic racism. Excellent examples of policy implementations to alleviate the crisis include: reinstating Dodd-Frank reforms, outlawing predating mortgage terms, expanding opportunities to low-income and marginalized populace, and real fight against pervasive residential segregation policies such as exclusionary zoning.
Keywords: Homeownership, Dodd-Frank reforms, Redlining, Zoning, Yimbys, Mortgage terms
Residential Equality in the US
Introduction
Homeownership in the US exemplifies a longstanding thorny and controversial social problem, often pervading public discourses such as institutional racism, human rights, opportunities, and the American Dream. Solutions to homeownership have become essential in these debates through various proposals and politically motivated policies domiciled in both political divides. While successive regimes have prioritized homeownership through federal regulations, it remains a significant challenge due to income inequality and restrictive rules such as single-family zoning, which are both entwined to the historical entrenchment of segregation. Consequently, homeownership remains an impediment to wealth creation and, as a result, pervasively contributes to housing inequalities and disproportional levels of homelessness —a fixture of American society.
Notably, there is a need to reconcile the problem of homeownership amidst the existing inequalities in residential ownership and housing in the US. Excellent proposals include reductions of Zoning restrictions as advocated by proponents and lobby groups such as Yimbys. Yimbys espouse and project an immediate solution to the homeownership problem, arguing that resolving the housing shortage requires building more homes (Bokat-lindell, 2021). Preferably Called Yimbyism, its proponents advocate and lobby for lawmakers and homeowners to say, "yes, in my backyard." The Yimbyism theory posits that zoning reduction increases housing supply, allowing control over housing pricing. Zoning is particularly a problem in liberal states such as California. For instance, anyone in California can object to new construction under a 1970 environmental protection law. Besides, many resources used in servicing residential projects' costs go to government fees, permits, and consulting companies.
Consequently, the supply of affordable housing is either mired in paperwork over zoning or objections by other property owners or suffers from surging construction costs. For instance, San Francisco leads the world in housing construction costs: constructing a two-bedroom apartment costs $750,000. Other proposals include restructuring the taxation system, which is often hostile to developers, landlords, and bankers (Bokat-lindell, 2021). Therefore, homeowners who were lucky enough to purchase their houses earlier have enjoyed substantial wealth gains, most exempt from taxation.
Motivation and Research Question
Housing and homeownership in the US are a significant social challenge, mired by inequalities that continue to exacerbate income inequalities through the impediment of factors such as wealth creation. According to Friedman (2022, n.p), Homeownership in the US was valued at $24.1 trillion as of 2020; however, 42.5% of the wealth is held among high-income homeowners, who constitute a small percentage of the overall population of Americans. It shows how homeownership is a significant problem in the US. According to Bokat-lindell (2021), data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities indicate that between 2001 and 2019, median rents rose faster than median renter incomes across the US.
Meanwhile, minimum-wage workers can afford a one-bedroom rental in just seven percent of all counties across the US. Several reasons have been associated with the problem of housing and homeownership in the US. For instance, rising costs of labor and lumber are perceived as drivers of pummeling costs of establishment and realization of affordable housing. However, research points to the cycle of generational inequalities in the US. For instance, restrictive regulations, including single-family zoning, minimum lot sizes, and parking lot requirements, limit the ability to expand residential housing capacity.
Nonetheless, the existing rule tends to entrench longstanding and historical housing inequalities. Homeowners who purchased their properties in earlier periods have enjoyed substantial wealth gains, most of which are exempt from taxation. Taxation tent benefits non-profit housing developers while creating a hostile environment for profitable entities such as developers, banks, and landlords.
The need to resolve and reconcile the issue of homeownership and existing and historical inequalities and injustice is profoundly essential. It is a matter of urgency given the unpredictable nature of the global economy and the historical experience of economic crisis due to challenges related to homeownership. For instance, the failure of the United States government to regulate the housing market in 2008 led to the Great Recession by exacerbating existing housing and wealth inequalities and upsurging disparaging levels of supply and demand. Therefore, the research question at hand is “How can the United States reconcile with mass homeownership despite existing inequalities in residential ownership?”
Recent History of Homeownership
A Crisis Long in the Making
The recent history of homeownership