Ep. 121: Exclusionary Zoning and the Great Migration with Alexander Sahn

Why is exclusionary zoning, which restricts land to expensive single-family houses, so commonplace in the US compared to other countries? Alexander Sahn shares strong evidence that local responses to a wave of migration by Southern Blacks in the middle of the 20th century played a big role.

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Show notes:

• Sahn, A. (2025). Racial diversity and exclusionary zoning: Evidence from the Great Migration. The Journal of Politics, 87(4), 1302-1318.
• Boustan, L. P. (2007). Black migration, white flight: the effect of black migration on northern cities and labor markets. The Journal of Economic History, 67(2), 484-488.
• Derenoncourt, E. (2022). Can you move to opportunity? Evidence from the Great Migration. American Economic Review, 112(2), 369-408.
• Grant, K. N. (2014). Relocation and Realignment: How the Great Migration Changed the Face of the Democratic Party. Syracuse University.
  Cui, T. (2024). Did race fence off the American city? The great migration and the evolution of exclusionary zoning [working paper].
• Gallagher, R., Shertzer, A., & Twinam, T. (2026). Zoning and the American Suburb (No. 26-37). Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
• Lens, M. C. (2024). Where the hood at?: Fifty years of change in black neighborhoods. Russell Sage Foundation.
• Episode 23 of UCLA Housing Voice, on political representation and housing supply with Michael Hankinson.