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Nowhere to Live: The Hidden Story of America's Housing Crisis
A century of policy mistakes ruined America’s cities and created an unprecedented housing crisis.
For many families, homelessness is no longer someone else’s problem. It is right around the corner, a real threat in their own immediate future. Our housing crisis is the result of a long history of government policies, court cases, and political manipulation. While these disparate causes make up a tangled web, they have one surprising the attack on private property rights. For more than a century, government policies and court decisions have attacked, undermined, and eroded private property rights. Whether it be exclusionary zoning, eminent domain abuse, rent control, or excessive environmental regulations, the cumulative impact of these assaults on private property is that it’s become increasingly difficult—or even impossible—to build adequate housing supplies to meet market demands. We are fast approaching a time when millions of typical Americans will, quite literally, have nowhere to live.
Nowhere to The Hidden Story of America’s Housing Crisis , takes readers through the history of how we got here. With stories going back to the Civil War, the early twentieth century, and the ill-fated “urban renewal” movement of the 1950s, Nowhere to Live reveals how the government layered mistake upon mistake to create the current crisis. It also provides a way not by government fiat, but through the restoration of private property rights.
For many families, homelessness is no longer someone else’s problem. It is right around the corner, a real threat in their own immediate future. Our housing crisis is the result of a long history of government policies, court cases, and political manipulation. While these disparate causes make up a tangled web, they have one surprising the attack on private property rights. For more than a century, government policies and court decisions have attacked, undermined, and eroded private property rights. Whether it be exclusionary zoning, eminent domain abuse, rent control, or excessive environmental regulations, the cumulative impact of these assaults on private property is that it’s become increasingly difficult—or even impossible—to build adequate housing supplies to meet market demands. We are fast approaching a time when millions of typical Americans will, quite literally, have nowhere to live.
Nowhere to The Hidden Story of America’s Housing Crisis , takes readers through the history of how we got here. With stories going back to the Civil War, the early twentieth century, and the ill-fated “urban renewal” movement of the 1950s, Nowhere to Live reveals how the government layered mistake upon mistake to create the current crisis. It also provides a way not by government fiat, but through the restoration of private property rights.
- GenresNonfiction
490 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 11, 2024
Although numerous books have explained why zoning increases rents and housing prices, most are either very scholarly (e.g. Bernard Siegan's work on zoning) have been written from a center-left perspective.
James Burling's new book fills a gap; it is a very popular, easy-to-read discussion from a conservative perspective, emphasizing the relationship between local regulation and high housing costs. In addition to attacking zoning, Burling also criticizes regulations favored by liberals, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning. He points out that by making it less profitable to be a developer or landlord, these policies reduce housing supply.
He goes further afield by attacking environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act and wetlands regulation; I'm not quite as persuaded by his arguments on these issues. He argues that federal regulators have overreached, but I'm not sure whether these laws reduce housing construction significantly.
James Burling's new book fills a gap; it is a very popular, easy-to-read discussion from a conservative perspective, emphasizing the relationship between local regulation and high housing costs. In addition to attacking zoning, Burling also criticizes regulations favored by liberals, such as rent control and inclusionary zoning. He points out that by making it less profitable to be a developer or landlord, these policies reduce housing supply.
He goes further afield by attacking environmental laws such as the Endangered Species Act and wetlands regulation; I'm not quite as persuaded by his arguments on these issues. He argues that federal regulators have overreached, but I'm not sure whether these laws reduce housing construction significantly.
July 1, 2026
In “Nowhere to Live,” the James Burling presents a sobering look at the American housing crisis. Burling opens with his experience: he has spent decades litigating property rights cases at the public interest law firm the Pacific Legal Foundation. Burling draws on his work, and the work of other public interest lawyers, through the book, and it is clear he has deep knowledge on the laws at hand.
Throughout the book, Burling points to restrictions on housing supply as the major contributor to our current woes. Some of these restrictions include zoning, environmental reviews, legal precedent in which key protections for property rights have not been enforced. The story Burling tells is demoralizing, but ultimately gripping. I finished this book in under a week. Burling ends with policy recommendations to try and alleviate the housing shortage, and points to improved protections for property rights as the key.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this book. It was clear that the author had a great depth of knowledge about case law and Supreme Court justices that this reader had to occasionally search, but I highly recommend this book. This is a valuable addition to the American canon on housing, up there with Rothstein’s “Color of Law.”
Throughout the book, Burling points to restrictions on housing supply as the major contributor to our current woes. Some of these restrictions include zoning, environmental reviews, legal precedent in which key protections for property rights have not been enforced. The story Burling tells is demoralizing, but ultimately gripping. I finished this book in under a week. Burling ends with policy recommendations to try and alleviate the housing shortage, and points to improved protections for property rights as the key.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this book. It was clear that the author had a great depth of knowledge about case law and Supreme Court justices that this reader had to occasionally search, but I highly recommend this book. This is a valuable addition to the American canon on housing, up there with Rothstein’s “Color of Law.”
October 29, 2024
This book provides a refreshing look at the history of housing and how we got to where we are today with the housing crisis. James also provides some quality examples of ways to increase housing availability through proposed reforms (both litigation and policy) and deregulation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews