A land-use regulation strategy mandates that new residential developments include a specified percentage of affordable housing units. This approach seeks to integrate residents from diverse income levels within the same community. For instance, a city might require that 10% of the units in any new housing complex be reserved for households earning below a certain percentage of the area’s median income.
The primary objective of this policy is to promote socioeconomic diversity and combat economic segregation. By creating mixed-income communities, it aims to provide access to quality education, employment opportunities, and other resources for lower-income residents. Historically, it emerged as a response to exclusionary zoning practices that effectively kept affordable housing out of affluent neighborhoods, thus perpetuating inequalities.
