Housing and transit policy determine the geography of opportunity, and the federal government has long pursued policies aimed at limiting and restricting Americans' mobility. America's patterns of spatial inequality are the direct result of policies designed to keep working people from accessing the neighborhoods, schools, and job markets available to the wealthy. On a literal level, exorbitant housing costs divide communities by displacing working people from the neighborhoods they call home. On a broader scale, the crisis has a similarly divisive impact on the American social fabric. Policies that encourage spatial segregation, be it through limiting transportation options and incentivizing sprawl, are a major contributor to social isolation and discontent.

Combatting spatial inequality must be a policy priority for federal, state, and local lawmakers. Expanding transit access is a long-term investment in lowering the cost of living for American workers forced to spend significant portions of their income on car payments, gas, and insurance. This culture of car dependence is made even more expensive by housing policies designed to keep workers from living in prosperous communities they work in. Housing policy must prioritize real affordability, including through preventing corporate actors from profiting off the ongoing crisis.