Why did our nation’s progressive cities enact elitist land use policies that price out the non-rich in the first place? While single-family home zoning laws initially developed to prevent African Americans from moving into all-white neighborhoods, they spread in the 1960s and 1970s in response to “urban renewal.” Homeowners angry at outside forces destroying their neighborhoods demanded the right to decide what gets built in their backyards. Unfortunately, homeowner groups used their new power to ban new apartments. This restriction dominates residential areas in many cities.