Thursday 7 December 2017

No Sadiq, upzoning and densification don't resolve housing costs


You need 'urbanized area expansion' too:
The idea that the Bay Area might build more housing on greenfield sites – single or multifamily – isn’t even contemplated. Nor does the piece cite examples of where large scale infill densification actually rendered housing affordable in the absence of new greenfield construction. I’m not aware of any such cases.

That’s not to say that upzoning or densification are a bad things. I would support upzoning and building more infill in nodes proximate to transit stations. (I also think we should be honest that our intent in this is in fact to change the character of the neighborhood). But if you’re taking urbanized area expansion off the table, don’t ever expect to bring housing prices down materially.
No new building land, no fall in house prices relative to earnings.

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