Fixer-Upper

Provides an action plan for how American federal, state, and local policies should be restructured to achieve better housing outcomes. The author proposes systemic change in the political processes regulating housing production, federal tax policy, funding for transportation and infrastructure, and greater federal support for the social safety net.

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Fixer-Upper is the first book assessing how the broad set of local, state, and national housing policies affect people and communities. It does more than describe how yesterday’s policies led to today’s problems. It proposes practical policy changes than can make stable, decent-quality housing more available and affordable for all Americans in all communities.

Fixing systemic problems that arose over decades won’t be easy, in large part because millions of middle-class Americans benefit from the current system and feel threatened by potential changes. But Fixer-Upper suggests ideas for building political coalitions among diverse groups that share common interests in putting better housing within reach for more Americans, building a more equitable and healthy country.