Though Congress long ago declared housing discrimination illegal, there is very little enforcement of the law, and in 2000, the isolation of minority families remains high. The most recent federal and local studies of the housing market and of lending practices indicate continued and widespread discrimination. Segregated black communities extend well into sections of some suburban rings. In many housing markets, most black families have been segregated for generations. Large, segregated Latino barrios are emerging in cities that are major migration destinations. The numbers of families living in areas segregated by race and poverty have grown rapidly. This paper examines the history of housing segregation and discrimination, discussing institutionalized practices and expectations and questioning whether the government's fair housing is a real cure. After presenting facts about housing segregation (e.g., economic differences explain only a small fraction of existing segregation, and most new housing is developed on the edge of suburbia and sold to an overwhelmingly white clientele), the paper discusses the need for a new concept of suburbia, then offers recommendations in such areas as preventing ghettoization and resegregation, ending discrimination and opening white areas, and broadening the concept of community development. Illustrative policy approaches are included. (SM)