Regulatory restrictions on the construction of new housing inflict immense harm by cutting off millions of people from housing, educational, and job opportunities. They are also a major affront to property rights. The traditional explanation for such "exclusionary zoning" is that it is driven by the narrow self-interest of "NIMBY" ("not in my backyard") homeowners. Although society as a whole would benefit from deregulation, the NIMBYs oppose it because it might reduce their property values and allow less affluent people to move into their neighborhoods.
