The US Should Bribe Homeowners to Accept Greater Density

The trouble is, the amount of money required would be astronomical.

America needs more of this.

Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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The United States faces a peculiar housing quandary.

According to Freddie Mac, in 2020, we were short 3.8 million homes. That’s a deficit of one full New York City. And the hole is getting bigger. Land isn’t the problem. Less than 5% of the country is built up, a small fraction of Europe’s housing footprint. The problem is that not enough homes are being built.