Toward ‘One America’: A Proposed Federal Statute Prohibiting Exclusionary Land-Use Practices and Mandating Inclusionary Policies

Abstract

Fair housing laws and court decisions, whether on constitutional or statutory grounds, have not been effective in stopping municipalities from engaging in “exclusionary land-use practices.” Neither our federal legislation nor judicial decisions have addressed broadly inclusionary ends focused on race and class. This commentary sets forth a proposal for a federal statute designed to more effectively achieve twin policies: prohibiting municipal actions that in fact exclude racial and lower economic groups and mandating inclusion of these groups within geographic areas and governmental units.