A new study published in the journal Housing Policy Debate may have identified another contributing factor to the financial crisis: neighborhood zoning.
Conducted by a team at the University of Illinois, the study examined the incidence of foreclosure from 2005 to 2008 in different categories of zoning in six metropolitan areas.
Based on a look at zoning classifications that allow anywhere from more than eight units per acre to less than one unit per acre, researchers discovered that communities that were zoned to foster development of large, single-family homes rather than a broader spectrum of housing options had a higher proportion of homes that entered foreclosure.
