14 Distillation Guidebook Co-Lab • 9.18–9.19 2025 Housing Choice Cities facing blight highlighted the value of middle housing types, like duplexes and rowhouses, but with important caveats. Many noted that “the infrastructure is often old or blighted" or they “require money for repair and at times become abandoned." The lack of investment coupled with weak market conditions exacerbate the crisis, limiting supply of the housing types communities value and need. Single-family zoning, while pervasive nationwide, presents a different set of challenges. Cities that pointed to single-family zoning are largely composed of “many single-family homes.” Participants gave these low scores, suggesting how these housing types are not what people value most. Participants went on to note that these regulations have created a “resistance to increased The themes that emerged are interconnected. At the center is the housing crisis, defined by unaffordable rents, strong markets, and growing neighborhood gentrification. The deterioration and outlaw of new middle housing has significantly worsened the crisis and limited housing options.
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