New Federal Plan Explores Using Government Land for Affordable Housing Solutions

U.S. Capitol building against a clear blue sky.

The federal government is taking unprecedented steps to address the housing affordability crisis by looking to its vast federal lands as a solution.

Key Insights

The initiative utilizes federal lands for housing, potentially creating millions of homes by streamlining processes.
Burgum and Turner emphasize regulatory reform to sidestep bureaucratic challenges and tap into underutilized lands.
Potential sites near major Western cities are identified as key targets for residential development.
This collaboration is poised to become a historical effort, yet remains under scrutiny for its potential environmental impact.

Governmental Collaboration for Housing Affordability

The Departments of the Interior and Housing and Urban Development have launched a task force aimed at addressing the U.S. housing shortage. The focus is on utilizing federal land managed mainly by the Department of the Interior. This government initiative seeks to streamline regulatory hurdles and expedite the land transfer process for residential development in collaboration with state and local governments. “Working together, our agencies can take inventory of underused federal properties, transfer or lease them to states or localities to address housing needs, and support the infrastructure required to make development viable—all while ensuring affordability remains at the core of the mission,” said Turner and Burgum.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and HUD chief Scott Turner announced this partnership, aiming to address the housing affordability crisis nationwide. They highlighted the importance of identifying suitable federal lands for development that carefully balance environmental considerations and housing needs.

Potential Scale and Challenges

The federal government oversees a quarter of U.S. land, with much of it situated in western regions under the Bureau of Land Management. Proposals indicate that focusing on lands near cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City could effectively address housing constraints.

A conservative think tank analysis suggests that developing 512,000 acres could yield up to four million homes. Despite this ambitious vision, previous unsuccessful attempts due to governmental disagreements linger, underlining the critical nature of this endeavor.

Overcoming Bureaucratic Hurdles

Burgum and Turner emphasized the necessity of regulatory process reform to overcome bureaucratic challenges in building on federal lands. By working together, the agencies plan to take inventory of underutilized properties and devise strategies for transferring these lands to meet housing demands. “Streamlining the regulatory process is a cornerstone of this partnership. Historically, building on federal land is a nightmare of red tape—lengthy environmental reviews, complex transfer protocols and disjointed agency priorities. This partnership will cut through the bureaucracy. This isn’t a free-for-all to build on federal lands, although we recognize that bad-faith critics will likely call it that. It’s a strategic effort to use our resources responsibly while preserving our most beautiful lands,” wrote Burgum and Turner.

A Pew Research Center survey recently underscored public concern, with 69% of voters “very concerned” about home prices. The urgency of the initiative is clear, aiming to increase housing supply and reduce costs ambitiously, while maintaining respect for environmental considerations.