We need policies to balance corporate progress with people’s rights
The United States is facing a structural housing imbalance. On one side, real estate innovation—Wall Street capital, large institutional portfolios, automated management systems, and algorithmic pricing—has reshaped the market with speed and efficiency. On the other, Americans are increasingly struggling with affordability, displacement, opaque billing systems, and corporate practices that override long-standing tenant protections.
Balancing these forces is not anti-market—it is pro-stability, pro-transparency, and pro-community. A modern housing system can support corporate investment without sacrificing people’s fundamental right to safe, fair, and affordable housing.
Increasing Housing Supply: Reforming the Rules of the Built Environment
A major driver of housing scarcity is restrictive zoning. To lower prices and expand options, policymakers must allow more homes to be built—both through large-scale development and incremental density in existing neighborhoods.
Zoning Reform
- Legalize ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units) statewide or citywide
- Eliminate single-family-only zoning, enabling duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes
- Reduce minimum lot sizes, allowing small parcels to host multiple homes
- Abolish parking minimums, which raise construction costs and limit density
- Expand Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) to cluster new homes near transit
- Streamline permitting with predictable, by-right approvals
Innovative Housing Types: Missing Middle, Micro-Units, and Tiny Home Communities
Reforming zoning unlocks new design possibilities that reflect how people actually want to live.
Missing Middle Housing, like townhomes and rowhouses increase density without requiring high-rise buildings, naturally stabilizing rents by adding more entry-level units.
Tiny homes (generally under 400 sq. ft.) maximize functionality with lofts, deck space, and multi-use layouts. There have been remarkable improvements in prefabricated home building that’s fueling the growing tiny home movement.
Why People Want Them
- Affordability
- Eco-friendly living
- Minimalism and downsizing
- Community-oriented “pocket neighborhoods”
Building an Innovative and Human Housing System
Housing is both a market and a human necessity.
Real estate innovation—technology, data, modular construction, institutional investment—can make housing better, faster, and more efficient. But without safeguards, corporate systems can create widespread harm, especially for tenants who rely on stability the most.
A balanced framework does not pick winners—it ensures fairness:
- Communities get more housing.
- Families keep access to homeownership.
- Landlords compete on equal terms.
- Technology is used responsibly.
- Vulnerable residents are not left behind.
America can embrace progress without sacrificing the right to a safe, stable home.
Michael Stuart is one of the extraordinarily rare individuals who sits at the intersection of military discipline, real-estate insight, advanced technology expertise, corporate executive experience, and lived understanding of HUD-VASH housing systems.