Commentary: Growth Without Affordable Housing Requirements is “Hard-wiring Segregating Into the Future”

Development should come with affordability. Here's the case for inclusionary housing, and why opponents aren't seeing the full picture.

1 minute read

January 18, 2026, 7:00 AM PST

By Shelterforce


Two-story duplex with matching dark red doors in Boston, Massachusetts.

Artography / Shutterstock

In “What Critics Get Wrong About Inclusionary Housing,” Quintin Mecke, executive director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, argues that inclusionary housing remains one of the few effective tools for producing homes affordable to extremely low-income households. This is housing the private market will not build on its own. The article responds to growing legal challenges led by the Pacific Legal Foundation, which frames inclusionary requirements as unconstitutional “exactions” and taxes on development.

The piece emphasizes the need for careful, evidence-based framing of housing policy debates. Rooted in the civil rights movement, inclusionary housing is presented not as a barrier to growth, but as a mitigation tool that ensures development does not deepen displacement or inequality.

Monday, December 29, 2025 in Shelterforce Magazine

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