In Homelessness Is a Housing Problem， Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern seek to explain the substantial regional variation in rates of homelessness in cities across the United States。 In a departure from many analytical approaches， Colburn and Aldern shift their focus from the individual experiencing homelessness to the metropolitan area。 Using accessible statistical analysis， they test a range of conventional beliefs about what drives the prevalence of homelessness in a given city—including mental illness， drug use， poverty， weather， generosity of public assistance， and low-income mobility—and find that none explain the regional variation observed across the country。 Instead， housing market conditions， such as the cost and availability of rental housing， offer a far more convincing account。 With rigor and clarity， Homelessness Is a Housing Problem explores U。S。 cities' diverse experiences with housing precarity and offers policy solutions for unique regional contexts。