21 ms·

I think to the planners who make these decisions, helping people is simply a positive externality.

• m0llusk 9y ago
  You have things backwards. Planners try to smooth things out or at least prevent disasters. Most of the existing towns in the SF Bay Area are full of great opportunities for expansion but NIMBYs want their villages to stay the same. That is driven not by planners but reactionaries. This particular plot of land is a chronically flooded lagoon and swamp which is awkwardly distant from local transit. It is interesting that instead of being realistic about this land's obviously undesirable nature this article chose instead to print a picture of a nearby plot. The picture shows the former Schlage factory grounds which have undergone extensive remediation and are getting a new high density community built in no small part because of the ongoing efforts of planners to get the highest and best use for that site. As long as people can't stop lying about what the situation is and what options might be available the chances of a favorable outcome are low.