Barriers to Fair Housing Policy Implementation: Finance, Regulation, and Public Opinion

Abstract

Housing policy in the United States currently emphasizes deconcentrating poverty to encourage equal access to opportunity (Imbroscio 2008). The equitable distribution of affordable housing across regions, otherwise known as ‘fair housing,’ represents a key factor in encouraging equity and opportunity (Briggs 2005; Galster and Killen 1995; Rosenbaum 1995). Developing this housing, however, is not a simple process. The necessity to compile complicated and delicate financing structures, to navigate local, regional, and state regulatory systems, and to appease a skeptical public, has thwarted the success of public policies designed to alleviate poor and unaffordable housing conditions. This chapter analyzes how each of these barriers can prevent advocates, developers, and policymakers from achieving affordability and access to opportunity through the production of federally subsidized housing. Understanding these barriers to implementation is an essential component of producing successful fair housing policies in the future.