Mount Laurel and the Fair Housing Act: Success or Failure? A Presentation by the Affordable Housing Colloquium of the Seton Hall University Center for Social Justice with an Introduction and Commentary by Paula A. Franzese

This article details a colloquium held by the Seton Hall University University Center for Social Justice concerning affordable housing. This article explores the historical and theoretical underpinnings of the Mount Laurel doctrine, and explores the viability of existing mechanisms to implement the associated constitutional imperative. The first speaker, Mr. Art Bernard, advocates that the current enforcement plan for realizing affordable housing goals is an effective means of enforcement. The second speaker, Professor Peter Van Doren, advocates that the Mount Laurel strategy is fundamentally ineffective, and suggests, in leiu of manipulation of housing market outcomes, that the various efficiency and equity problems in land use are better addressed by a system of wealth redistribution.