In 2000, Dartmouth University economist William Fischel coined the term homevoter to describe the fact that, in most of the United States, a majority of voters were also homeowners and that they would tend to support policies that boosted the value of their homes. In particular, Fischel argued that homevoter preferences were responsible for the rise of no-growth and slow-growth laws that became popular on the West Coast and in the Northeast after Earth Day, 1970.
This suggested that efforts to abolish urban-growth boundaries were doomed to failure. Why would Portland or San Jose homeowners ever vote to get rid of boundaries when doing so would reduce the value of their homes by 50 percent (in Portland) to 75 percent (in San Jose)? Even in places where a majority of people were renters, renters are less likely to vote than homeowners, so getting rid of the boundaries appeared to be impossible.
However, a new rule published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2013 offered an alternative solution, one that by-passed voters and their elected representatives. This solution was called disparate impact, and it said that land-use regulations that made it more difficult for low-income minorities to live in an area were effectively the same as putting up a sign saying “No Blacks Allowed.” Continue reading
