To work for all, HUD’s housing policy changes must build on economic opportunities
“Ben Carson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, wants opinions about his proposed changes to federal housing policy. We’re in the opinion business, so here’s ours: It is a plan fraught with unintended consequences. The proposal, unveiled in early August, would ease zoning restrictions that Carson says limit affordable home construction for low-income families. It also would shift HUD’s strategy away from efforts to integrate lower-income housing into wealthier neighborhoods in favor of promoting more housing development overall. ‘I want to encourage the development of mixed-income multifamily dwellings all over the place,’ he told The Wall Street Journal.”