With Carson now in the driver’s seat at HUD, what in the world could the soft-spoken neurosurgeon mean for U.S. cities? While HUD's power over local land use regulation and housing is limited, here are three low-cost reforms HUD could pursue under Carson. Watch On Forbes: Top 5 Overvalued Housing MarketsFirst, Carson could direct HUD officials to craft and disseminate model zoning reform legislation to the states. Third, Carson can instruct HUD to revise mortgage insurance policies to make them friendlier to urban, mixed-use housing. As indicated by Carson’s admittedly sparse comments on housing policy, he recognizes restrictive zoning as a problem and understands the affordability crisis facing cities.

Source: Forbes March 24, 2017 17:15 UTC