"The term “fair housing” sounds straightforward, predicated on ensuring that no one who can afford to rent or buy is turned away based on race or other discriminatory criteria. The Obama administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, however, took things much further, using fair-housing law “affirmatively” to push localities not only to bar discrimination but also to change the broad socioeconomic makeups of American communities. This meant, in effect, that any jurisdiction receiving federal funds had to demonstrate that it was serving low-income residents in dozens of ways—including areas well beyond HUD’s nominal reach, such as education.

Now the Trump administration is pulling back, but not abolishing, these rules, setting the stage for production of housing that will prove “naturally affordable” because of its design and density, in contrast with the more expensive, federally subsidized version. HUD Secretary Ben Carson appears to understand that small homes on small lots—even if bunched together in lower-income neighborhoods—tend to be affordable, even without subsidies. And, like one of his HUD predecessors, Jack Kemp, Carson reminds us that local regulatory barriers can push up housing costs and depress new supply."

What a crazy idea, help people improve the neighborhood they already live in...