Proponents of single family zoning in berekely in 1916 were explicitly racist. It was a way for them to exclude black people from town, and at the time housing segregation by race was both legal and common. This is quite well known.

> Proponents of single family zoning in berekely in 1916 were explicitly racist

Yes, but it isn't 1916; it's 2021. Are proponents of single family zoning in 2021 motivated by racism (explicit or otherwise)?

Probably not directly, but it has that effect by proxy and the initial segregationist motivation is still in force. It's 2021 but the divides in wealth, living standards, outcomes, etc... still echo the racial divisions of the past. Hundreds of years of societal conditioning will take hundreds of years to fully revert.

The zoning laws also have a similar effect on those who are priced out by wealth & income, regardless of race, leading to rich enclaves & poor ghettos. These are harmful to society as a whole, which benefits from heterogeneity.

No, it's probably classism instead. Mandating that people rent or own a minimum amount of land means that you can keep poorer sorts out of the neighborhood, which also means their kids don't go to your schools.

It's gated communities, enforced by the government. And proponents want to act like it's morally acceptable because...democracy, or something? As if the fact that people democratically voted on something always means they're right.

>The history of American suburbanism is a story of race. There are other players (cars, telephones, pollution), but race was a major pillar

Yes, but I'm asking about proponents in 2021.

Any analysis of current housing policy & trends, alongside public education policy & trends would lead to the conclusion that the motives haven't changed much.