Housing quality matters both for the physical health and development of people who occupy it and for the safety and stability of neighborhoods where it is located. Urban planners have thus long been interested in the determinants of housing quality and ability of policy to influence the physical condition of housing stock. In this dissertation, I examine three questions related to the physical quality of housing in the United States. In my first essay, I study whether and through what channels deteriorating housing in Cleveland, OH impacts the neighborhoods in which it is located. In my second essay, I study whether regulations which constrain the development of new housing affect the prevalence of certain housing problems. Finally, in my last essay, I examine various ways in which families alter the quality of housing they consume in the face of high housing prices and limited supply. My research contributes to both our academic understanding of how housing markets function and provides insights for planners and policy makers as they develop policy to improve housing quality in their communities.