Zoning the American Dream: Where Philly fits in the debate over affordable housing
Cities like Minneapolis are considering eliminating single-family zoning as a way to make housing more affordable. Here's why Philly isn't following suit.
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File photo: Homes at 52nd and Diamond streets in Philadelphia's Wynnefield neighborhood. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
As Philadelphia’s real estate market booms, housing advocates see a looming affordability crisis in some neighborhoods. That has some advocates looking to Minneapolis, where the city is trying to eliminate single-family zoning so developers could build smaller, denser, and more affordable types of housing. But Philadelphia doesn’t seem to be following suit. On this episode of The Why, PlanPhilly reporter Jake Blumgart explains why the city of rowhomes is taking the opposite approach.
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