America’s suburbs are sprawling again. Over the 20th century, real estate developers built large tracts of single-family homes outside of major cities. The builders were following mortgage underwriting standards first introduced by the Federal Housing Administration in the 1930s. Over the century, those guidelines created housing market conditions that explicitly shut out many minorities. Experts say it is possible to update these old building codes to create equity while fixing some, but not all of the problems of American suburbia.
Last year, single family housing starts rose to 1.123 million, the highest since 2006, according to the National Association of Home Builders, however, options for prospective homebuyers remain lean.
Experts say the problems of America’s housing market relate to past policy decisions. In particular, they say restrictive zoning codes are limiting housing supply. These codes are based on 1930s-era Federal Housing Administration guidelines for mortgage underwriting. That includes “no sidewalks and curvy dead-end streets,” according to Ben Ross, author of “Dead End: Suburban Sprawl and the Rebirth of American Urbanism.“
Ross and others believe that more must be done to manage residential real estate development. Ross lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, which recently revised its zoning code to bring more population density to the area. The county didn’t have many alternative options — 85% of build-worthy land is already developed.
Strict zoning laws favoring single-family homes have limited the supply of land available for multifamily construction and hampered production of more affordable housing. With land limited for multifamily projects, the price of that land has jumped and made those projects unaffordable for builders.
Today’s homebuyers are paying for past sprawl by drawing on credit to finance their lifestyles. Meanwhile, the cost of public infrastructure maintenance is weighing on depopulating towns across the country.
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How Suburban Sprawl Weighs On The U.S. Economy
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ah yes. i used to live in the US. beautiful country, but the suburb is one thing i definitely dont miss about it. 1 mile to the nearest starbucks, 1 hour wait for the next bus. no thanks.
Any time you view a news segment like this, keep in mind that these people will totally change their position in five to ten years based on which way the wind blows. All these experts get on the same bandwagon and their message in amplified, but they have no real ideas. This is a bunch of assertions by "experts" who zero supporting evidence. It's complete pablum that simply makes the viewer think anti-suburb. This topic is important and it should be given at least one hour.
It feels like America is an urbanised nation in denial, building its suburbs for as close an approximation of rural life as it can within a metro area
I really became aware of this phenomenon when I left college after graduation. First I lived on campus, and never had to leave unless I was visiting my girlfriend. Then we moved in together and we still had an apartment on a bus route that led to campus. I never really had to drive until I graduated and needed to work. Now I can’t unsee how impractical it is to have to drive everywhere.
Yeah, because the cities have become too expensive to live in. Of course everyone's going to the burbs and exurbs.
just tax land lol
Another example of racism in economics and project funding.
Cities have to stop funding suburban sprawl. Make sure your elected city officials aren't corrupt and funneling city tax wealth to suburban sprawl.
if you want to live in a suburb, in a single family home… then you should be able to! just don't ask the government to pay for it. suburbs are welfare queens.
Cities are obsolete.
How about thinking about plants and animals for once? May the world treat you and land developers the way you treat animals.
Air, noise, andnoften water pollution in cities is terrible. Plus- where to do things like grow your food or lets your dogs run without having to cram them in with other dogs? There are a lot of lifestyle issues that mean people dont like to live in cities.
Suburban Houston has maxxed out suburban sprawl. It should win an award for the most anti efficient city ever built
So in nutshell, it is just that America and its people got poorer and cannot sustain such kind of big cities anymore.
I live in a major east coast city. All the basic necessities of life are available within about two blocks. There is a huge park about a mile away. And it's also close to a public transit link, as well as bus lines. It's the ideal location–and I don't need a car.
The problem with this is that people are looking into the suburb from the outside telling the suburban communities what they should do and what they should want, and really the suburban towns are working on doing what they want in their own town.
Cities are different municipalities than cities. Cities don't pay for suburbs. Suburbs have commercial areas of it's own for support. Property taxes mainly go to schools. A very little goes to the county.
White flight helps a lot of cities around me. You want toquickly shift the population, bring in many black families, whites suddenly move out. The question is why…
People have been doing this for generations. Remember the baby boom? That was when surburban living began to take off, mainly for family size- hard to have a family of 5 in a 2 bedroom apartment.
REAL REPORTING AGAIN WoW
ONLY AFTER
#TRUMP
In order to prevent homebuyers from paying for bad development, I think it would be better to develop new cities with social indirect capital as a priority.
You guys should have called this phase two of forcing people into giant city’s that are liberal dominated.
I, as a GER who had lived in the US some decades ago, strongly believes the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 has started to haunt US Municipalities and States many years ago. The once known "American Dream" of owning a single-family home in Suburbia is about to turn into a nightmare. In my whole life, I have never owned a car (had driven a company-owned Audi for 15 years or so). Since then I have successfully and enjoyably been relying on public transit, be it short or long distanced. Today, I neither need nor miss a car…… We don't have that of a strict zoning here – having small and bigger grocery stores or bakeries and cafés within walking distance to one's home makes life without car liveable.
BUT THEY ALSO REDUCED HOUSING PRICES.
SO WHAT, YOU MEAN THEY'RE AFFORDABLE NOW? THAT'S THE BLOODY POINT
REALLY ? So the Monster Burden of a trillion dysfunctional, government (so-called) works who's PAY and PENSIONS come off the top are not the problem ? This video is a scam.
Just tax land. That’s it. Allow mixed use, walkable neighborhoods, tax (wealthy, but really all) suburbs HEAVILY as they are subsidized by taxes for their infrastructure, and give citizens other methods of transportation like bike paths, trains, trams, buses, and high speed rail
People need to get a job and stop relying on government supplement money so you people can get a house with space and peace and quiet
All I hear is City dwellers are big mad living in compact rat and roach filled areas
Suburban living is better because its peaceful and I can sleep better having peace and quiet , instead of mexicans and blacks blasting their music in City dwelling people in apartments
Great video!
6:13 Well howdy Mr. Marston 🤠
People waste their money on car payments, gas, insurance, and parking. Better to live in an apartment and take the subway. Europeans and Asians have the right idea.
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