Will a "New Direction" in Housing Policy Mean a "Return to Feudalism"?

John Petro counters Joel Kotkin's views that America's post-bubble housing policy should be "a renewed quest for homeownership."

1 minute read

July 2, 2009, 1:00 PM PDT

By Michael Dudley


In this op-ed from the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, John Petro states that "there is nothing sustainable about our current housing model" and that a "new direction" is needed. He is particularly scornful of Joel Kotkin's admonishments that a more balanced housing policy is "a way for 'new urbanists', 'big-city theoreticians', and even 'the fashion police' to force people out of their leafy bungalows and into drab apartment blocks. [Kotkin] seems to be defending homeownership, but really he's defending suburbs."

Instead, more diverse housing stock, dense living arrangements and more tenure options will "create better neighborhoods for everyone."

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in DMIblog

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