Housing is a growing issue, and for many Americans, they can neither find nor afford a place to rent or buy.

This has caused major cities and college towns to scramble as they find different ways to meet the housing needs of their populations. This is in addition to the more than 600,000 people who lack housing.

The United States needs to reexamine what housing is being built, the many empty houses across the country, and current laws surrounding housing.

One of the growing concerns felt by people of all classes is rising rent prices. Since 2020, rent has increased by 30 percent in the U.S., outpacing the growth of median home values. During that same period, salaries increased by only 19 percent, meaning rent has significantly outpaced people’s ability to afford it.

One thing many other countries do, which is rare here in the U.S., is implement rent control and public housing. This is common in countries like Germany, Sweden, Spain, and Austria but only has a presence in U.S. states such as New York and California, where there is limited use.

Vienna has a unique approach to housing. Of nearly 700,000 citizens who rent, more than half are in public housing. For citizens using private housing, 62 percent have some form of rent control, while only 9 percent — or 21,000 people — live in private housing with no rent control.

The U.S. has more than 15 million empty houses, with 10 percent of houses in Iowa being empty. These houses could be used by the government as public housing, following initiatives used by other Western countries.

This could also be implemented across the country. Empty or unused houses could be established as shelters or public housing. Allowing such a large number of houses to remain unused while more than 600,000 people remain unhoused is an act of negligence.

Another major issue is the many zoning laws cities have that prevent different types of housing from being built. Suburbs are notorious for this, taking up large amounts of space for single-family homes without allowing room for duplexes, townhomes, and apartments.

Urban areas and the suburbs need a mix of all types of housing and proximity between them. This allows for space to be used more efficiently while also putting people of different socioeconomic backgrounds and stages of life closer together.

Better zoning would help bring a stronger sense of community back to American suburbs and allow people to be closer to those from different walks of life. Suburbs and urban areas have been a form of segregation — both racially and economically — and it is time we eliminate laws that maintain this system.

The U.S. is dealing with a crisis of rising rents and housing prices, an increase in homelessness, and millions of unoccupied houses. President Joe Biden’s administration implemented actions to reduce rent increases, and President-elect Donald Trump has said removing illegal immigrants and selling off federal land is the best course of action.

To truly make a change, though, we need to remove outdated laws that prevent new and different types of housing from being built and take lessons from other Western countries. Then, maybe we can fix it.