There were no government "housing policies" that set segregation into motion.
The most powerful device for segregated housing was "restrictive covenants", which were privately attached to the deed itself, without any government policy or action. When the subdivision was created, the developer attached restrictive covenants, which were only privately enforced and not by any government action. Supreme Court decisions eliminated the enforceability of the restrictive covenants with regard to race and religion because they were CONTRARY to public policy! Far from government setting segregation into motion, it was government action that REMOVED the most powerful tools for segregation.
I was Director of Planning for the Austin suburb of Kyle. The city was the 5th fastest growing in Texas, while I was working there. The population had exploded from 2,225 in 1990, to 5,314 in 2000, to 28,016 in 2010, and was estimated at 35,733 in 2015. Housing developed faster than the city could build and install new infrastructure. While I was there, they had just opened the second high school and were building four more high schools at the same time. The Planning Commission took on the job of slowing down the growth of new housing in the city and they did so by beefing up the zoning regulations.....requiring all brick or masonry exterior, two-car garages, wood-burning fireplaces, larger lots, etc etc.....everything that would add cost and labor to new housing, in order to slow the growth. Next stop was Federal court.....the city was being sued by the Austin Homebuilders Association, the NAACP and LULAC (League of Latin American Citizens). The zoning ordinance discriminates against Negro and Hispanic minority groups. Of course, there was no such impact except that some Negroes and Hispanics could not afford higher home prices (occasioned by the new requirements). There was no government attempt to keep out ethnic minorities or to segregate the races.
Richard Rothstein is a bloody liar.
There were no government "housing policies" that set segregation into motion.
The most powerful device for segregated housing was "restrictive covenants", which were privately attached to the deed itself, without any government policy or action. When the subdivision was created, the developer attached restrictive covenants, which were only privately enforced and not by any government action. Supreme Court decisions eliminated the enforceability of the restrictive covenants with regard to race and religion because they were CONTRARY to public policy! Far from government setting segregation into motion, it was government action that REMOVED the most powerful tools for segregation.
I was Director of Planning for the Austin suburb of Kyle. The city was the 5th fastest growing in Texas, while I was working there. The population had exploded from 2,225 in 1990, to 5,314 in 2000, to 28,016 in 2010, and was estimated at 35,733 in 2015. Housing developed faster than the city could build and install new infrastructure. While I was there, they had just opened the second high school and were building four more high schools at the same time. The Planning Commission took on the job of slowing down the growth of new housing in the city and they did so by beefing up the zoning regulations.....requiring all brick or masonry exterior, two-car garages, wood-burning fireplaces, larger lots, etc etc.....everything that would add cost and labor to new housing, in order to slow the growth. Next stop was Federal court.....the city was being sued by the Austin Homebuilders Association, the NAACP and LULAC (League of Latin American Citizens). The zoning ordinance discriminates against Negro and Hispanic minority groups. Of course, there was no such impact except that some Negroes and Hispanics could not afford higher home prices (occasioned by the new requirements). There was no government attempt to keep out ethnic minorities or to segregate the races.