Voting our way into a housing crisis

In her book On The Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy, Jerusalem Demsas tackles a critical yet often misunderstood issue: how democratic structures, local elections and community meetings have contributed to a nationwide housing shortage. As she explains, “Americans are aware by now that the housing affordability crisis is acute, but many don’t understand what’s causing it.” Discussions largely focus on blaming developers, private equity or gentrifiers—while these factors play a role, they don’t address the root causes.

Demsas’ book argues that community resistance to development and hyperlocal governance—often through overextended democratic processes—has worsened the crisis. Decisions made at community meetings, frequently driven by older, wealthier homeowners, have stifled the development needed to address soaring housing prices. To solve this, Demsas suggests that states—not cities—must step in to reduce local bottlenecks and facilitate the construction of affordable homes. It's a provocative exploration of a tough policy challenge.