Abstract
Housing plays a central role in urbanization and urban sustainability in the United States. Population growth in and migration to urbanized areas is accompanied by demand for housing. The response to this demand, housing development, in turn consumes increasingly more land, spurring urbanization and fostering sprawling development patterns. With over fifty years of growth, mass housing production, and a cultural propensity for consumptive behavior, the United States serves as an exemplary case through which to examine urbanization and the featured role of housing within this larger process. This case also reveals the effects of decisions by housing producers, consumers, and