This Book Tells the Truth About Why America Doesn’t Build

In On the Housing Crisis, Jerusalem Demsas reveals the democratic stakes of America’s housing politics

Demsas opens her book with a simple invitation: “Consider how a home is built.”

This is a clear signal of where her attention sits. She starts with the act of construction itself, which is a breath of fresh air. So rarely is the actual process of building centered in our housing crisis conversations. The consideration of how a home is built is also the heart of our ethos at CITYBUILDER.

Have you ever walked out of a public hearing wondering why something so small felt so impossible? Jerusalem Demsas has written the book that explains why. On the Housing Crisis is a short but powerful read which highlights works from her reporting at The Atlantic. Its pages lay out the truth at the center of America’s housing shortage: our political systems make it too easy to block new homes and too hard to welcome new neighbors.

By the way — she continues this work today at The Argument, a publication right here on Substack where she brings the same mix of clarity and narrative insight to the issues sh…