by the Urban Institute

About the author: The Urban Institute is a national research center that provides independent analysis of government and private programs. The Institute prepared "What We Know About Mortgage Lending Discrimination," the report from which this viewpoint was excerpted, for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Institute's current research is focused on unmasking social problems that persist in prosperous times.

A major element of the American dream is home of one's own in the neighborhood of one's choice. Owning a home is one of the primary ways of accumulating wealth in our society, a form of wealth acquisition that is especially protected in the U.S. tax code. Being a homeowner is also known to increase people's feelings of control over their lives and...