The Housing Crisis
A look at why housing is not just expensive, but a larger social problem.
By Ben Wasley, May 7, 2026
What Is the Housing Crisis?
Housing in America is broken. Here is what that looks like.
  • Rent Is Too High — Most people spend way more than they should on rent each month.
  • Wages Have Not Kept Up — Pay has gone up slowly. Rent has gone up fast. The gap keeps growing.
  • Homeownership Is Out of Reach — Buying a home is not realistic for a lot of people anymore.
  • Not Enough Affordable Housing — There are simply not enough cheap places to live.
Why This Is a Social Problem
Housing touches almost every part of life. It is not just about rent.
Jobs and Wages
Where you live affects what jobs you can get.
Race and Discrimination
People of color have historically been pushed into worse housing.
Government Policy
Laws and policies have shaped who gets good housing and who does not.
Neighborhoods and Schools
Your zip code determines the quality of your kids school.
Family Wealth
Owning a home is one of the main ways families build wealth over time.
Eviction and Homelessness
Losing housing can destroy a persons job, health, and family stability.
Personal Issue vs. Social Issue
There is a big difference between one person struggling and millions struggling.
Personal View
One person cannot afford rent. People say it is their fault. They need to work harder or spend less.
Social View
Millions cannot afford rent. That is not a personal failure. That is a system problem.
When something affects this many people, we have to look at the bigger picture.
Causes of the Housing Crisis
The crisis did not happen by accident. There are four main reasons it exists.
Symbolic
Owning a home is tied to success and the American Dream. That idea shapes policy and culture.
Economic
Rent keeps rising. Wages stay flat. People fall further behind every year.
Institutional
Banks, landlords, and government policies often protect profit over people.
Historical
Redlining and racial discrimination locked many families out of good housing for generations.
What Society Teaches Us About Housing
From a young age, we are taught certain things about housing and success.
Homeownership Equals Success
Society treats owning a home as the goal everyone should reach.
Independence Is the Goal
We are taught that renting or living with family means you have not made it.
Homelessness Is a Personal Failure
Most people blame homeless individuals instead of looking at the system that failed them.
Three Sociological Theories
Sociologists use different lenses to understand the housing crisis.
Structural Functionalism
Housing is part of a system that keeps society stable. When it breaks down, everything else does too.
Conflict Theory
Housing is about power. The wealthy control it and profit from it. Everyone else struggles.
Symbolic Interactionism
The meaning we attach to housing, like success or failure, shapes how we treat people who lack it.
Why Conflict Theory Fits Best
Of the three theories, conflict theory explains the most about what is actually happening.
01
Who Owns Housing
A small group of wealthy people and corporations own most of the rental housing.
02
Who Profits
Landlords and investors make money when rent goes up. Tenants just pay more.
03
Who Is Protected
Laws and policies tend to protect property owners more than renters or low-income families.
The system is not broken. It is working exactly as it was designed, just not for everyone.
Research and Evidence
Real research backs up what we see happening in housing.
Desmond (2012)
Matthew Desmond studied evictions in Milwaukee. He found that eviction traps people in poverty. It is not just a result of being poor. It is a cause.
Chun et al. (2022)
During COVID, housing inequality got worse. Low-income renters were hit hardest while wealthier homeowners were largely protected.
Eviction is not just a condition of poverty. It is a cause of it. (Desmond, 2012)
Inequality, Reflection, and Conclusion
Housing inequality shows up across race, class, gender, and disability. People of color, low-income families, women, and people with disabilities face the worst outcomes.
When I started this project, I thought the housing crisis was just about rent being too high. Now I see it is a system problem tied to inequality, history, and power.
Housing affects safety, work, family, and health. It is not a personal failure. It is a system that needs to change.
References
  • Desmond, M. (2012). Eviction and the reproduction of urban poverty.
  • Chun, J. et al. (2022). Housing inequality during COVID-19.
  • Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. (2025). State of the Nation's Housing.
  • National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2025). Out of Reach Report.