New study examines aldermanic prerogative and how it can damage efforts to create affordable housing
“As far back as the 1930s, Chicago aldermen used their ability to decide zoning and land use in their wards to create and maintain communities segregated by race and class, according to a new report. Some 80 years later, elected officials continue to lean on both their informal and documented powers to block affordable housing in affluent white communities and keep lower-income black and Latino residents confined to certain parts of the city, the report says.”