Tech for Housing was founded to organize Bay Area tech workers around supply friendly land use reform. Tony Albert, Joey Hiller and myself, all saw an unmet need for tech-centric political outreach and decided to try our luck. And as tech workers ourselves, we had certain ideas around the best ways … [Read more...]
Is Commercialism Making Cities Less Livable?
Commercialism is blamed for most of the evils that plague society, inside and out of India. In the Indian city of Coimbatore, roads have become narrower and traffic more intense. There is not enough space for pedestrians. Many residents blame the city's rising level of commercialization.Are … [Read more...]
Why The Tech Industry Should Care About Housing
[Editor's note--this is the inaugural article for a new blog that Jeff launched called Tech For Housing, where tech workers advocate for more housing in the Bay Area.] San Francisco--For decades, every city in the Bay Area has restricted housing production. And for decades, the Bay Area has gone … [Read more...]
Do The Rich Cause High Rents?
One common argument against building new housing is that new construction will never reduce housing costs, because the influx of ultra-rich people into high-cost cities creates an insatiable level of demand.I recently found a source of information that may be relevant to this argument: the … [Read more...]
Lack of New Housing On The Westside Is Causing Gentrification Of East And South LA
[Research help for this article was provided by UCLA student Mitchell Boswell]The past 15 years have seen a hell of a lot of gentrification in LA. 15% of our poor neighborhoods have undergone gentrification since the year 2000, and it feels like things have only accelerated since the end of the … [Read more...]
Are High-Rises More Expensive?
One common argument against allowing the construction of taller apartment buildings is that tall buildings cost more to build, and thus are "overwhelmingly occupied by the wealthy." For example, tall buildings, unlike houses and walk-up buildings, require elevators.But in fact, fairly tall … [Read more...]
Massachusetts Senate Passes Zoning Reform
On Thursday, the Massachusetts State Senate voted 23-15 to pass the zoning reform bill, S.2311, after approximately three hours of debate and amendments. 20 of the 63 amendments were adopted, with the rest either defeated or withdrawn.According to the Massachusetts Smart Growth Coalition, the … [Read more...]
Keep Los Angeles Affordable By Repealing Proposition U
In 1986, a foreshadowing of today's fight over "neighborhood integrity" was taking place, culminating in November as Los Angeles residents voted 2-to-1 to cut the development potential of thousands of parcels across the city. Of the 29,000 acres zoned for commercial and industrial uses … [Read more...]