Short Circuit 148 | Are Apartments a Nuisance? Private Property and the Rise of Zoning

In a special Short Circuit, Harvard Law Professor Molly Brady joins us to talk about an untold story from the rise of zoning law. A lot of the blame for our affordable housing crisis is often placed on the case Euclid v. Ambler Realty, where the Supreme court declared zoning (which includes prohibiting apartments) constitutional. But zoning was not the first try at limiting multifamily housing in certain neighborhoods. Professor Brady discusses how property covenants and nuisance law were employed to limit the availability of housing, and how when that didn’t work planners turned to the heavy hand of zoning. Along the way we discuss property deeds, spontaneous order, immigration, and the ever-beloved Coase Theorem.

iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shor…uit/id309062019
Spotify: podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1DFCq…Ehed/overview
Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/institut…ce/short-circuit
Google: play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#…odkfm5cpz7rlvf76a
Newsletter: ij.org/about-us/shortcircuit/
Want to email us? [email protected]

Transcript: https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Episode-148-Transcript.pdf
Professor Molly Brady, http://www.maureenebrady.com/
Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/272/365/
The Coase Theorem, https://www.libertarianism.org/topics/ronald-h-coase
From the IJ Archives: Let’s Take Zoning to Court, https://ij.org/sc_blog/lets-take-zoning-to-court/

Recent Episodes

Short Circuit 376 | Murder Mysteries

Two federal appellate opinions involving a murder and whether justice was served. First, IJ’s Dan Alban reports on a Sixth Circuit case where a man […]

Listen Now

Short Circuit 375 | Unsympathetic Clients

Constitutional rights protect everyone, even people we might not be terribly fond of. This week we discuss two defendants who perhaps don’t deserve a lot […]

Listen Now

Short Circuit 374 | Content-Based Dancing

All kinds of constitutional goodies this week, from sovereign immunity to the First Amendment right to dance. But we begin with our annual Kentucky Derby […]

Listen Now