The severe shortage of housing across the nation has led to large increases in housing costs for both renters and homeowners. Estimates of the housing shortage range from 4 million to 7 million homes. In 2020, nearly a third of all households spent more than 30 percent of their incomes on housing.

People with low incomes—who are disproportionately people of color because of historical and ongoing systemic racism—are much more likely to be housing cost–burdened and to be priced out of owning their homes. High cost burdens and limited supply also create greater housing instability; research has shown that renters of color are more likely than white renters to live in crowded and unhealthy living conditions and to experience higher rates of eviction and homelessness.

Increasing the supply of housing—and particularly affordable housing—is vital to advancing housing justice because it will help reduce costs and alleviate the strain on households with low incomes and households of color. Research has found that increasing access to affordable housing is the most cost-effective strategy for reducing childhood poverty. Families living in affordable housing enjoy greater financial security, and are able to spend five times as much on health care and other essential needs as families with similar incomes who are severely housing cost–burdened.

Increasing the supply of housing that is affordable and available to residents of all incomes can promote racial equity and social and economic justice. Doing so can also create more choices for residents, allowing them to move into neighborhoods or cities that were previously inaccessible and to pursue homeownership.

But even though new market-rate housing production has been linked to lower housing prices overall, research has also linked market-rate construction to rent increases in nearby lower-priced buildings, and some argue that market-rate housing production can drive local displacement. Policymakers seeking to increase housing supply can encourage and enable both market-rate and affordable housing production, in addition to establishing policies that prevent displacement of existing residents.

This section profiles four interventions that may increase housing supply and, if implemented in equity-forward ways, advance housing justice: supporting public and shared equity housing through dedicated funding sources, land use regulation and approval reforms, requiring inclusionary zoning, and enforcing regional housing targets.

Next intervention: Dedicated Funding Sources