Many of these subdivisions follow a standard formula of 2,500 square-foot houses on half-acre lots located in isolated developments that require traveling by car for something as simple as picking up milk. The homogeneity in housing product results in a similar homogeneity in housing price within neighborhoods. Whether you buy a $175,000 Cape Cod in suburban Pittsburgh or a $1.7 million ranch house in Silicon Valley, odds are that your neighbor’s house looks, and costs, about the same as yours.

So why are our choices so limited when it comes to housing? The answer lies in the regulations that guide development patterns. Unlike the grocery store, where the product selection is dynamically adjusted to meet consumer preferences, the housing options available to us are largely dictated by zoning regulations. Since the start of the suburban experiment in the mid-20th century, municipal governments have religiously enacted zoning ordinances that include lists of permitted uses on virtually every parcel of private land.

The list of permitted uses is often especially short when it comes to housing options. Crack open virtually any suburban zoning code and you’ll find a variety of residential districts called something along the lines of “R-1 Residential” or “R-10 Single-Family Residential.” There is no standard for these zone names, so each code will be slightly different. But two aspects are almost always the same. First, these residential zones constitute virtually all land available for housing in the municipality—upwards of 80% or 90% is common—and second, the list of permitted uses is generally limited to single-family homes.

Now, there isn’t anything inherently wrong with a single-family house. I grew up in one, just like millions of other Americans. The problem is when local governments permit only single-family homes to the exclusion of all other forms of housing. When we’re surrounded by one type of housing most of our lives, it’s easy to forget that neighborhoods once offered housing as diverse as the selection of food available at a grocery store.

For proof, just look to any neighborhood that developed prior to modern zoning standards. The historic Park Avenue neighborhood of Rochester developed at a time where apartment buildings, duplexes, and townhouses were allowed alongside single-family homes. In a neighborhood offering a variety of housing types, those who are wealthy or place a higher value on privacy may choose to purchase a single-family home; conversely, those of fewer means or who simply want to avoid the headaches of homeownership may choose to rent an apartment.