As outside temperatures dropped to the low- to mid-teens Fahrenheit on Feb. 10, 2025, two children died^[1] of carbon monoxide toxicity^[2] in a family van parked in a Detroit casino parking garage.

We are political scientists^[3] who study urban and housing public policies^[4], and in the months since this tragedy, we took a deep look at the trends in homelessness and housing policies that foreshadowed the events of that night....