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California is already is the state with the largest population by a long way. Sure you could squeeze a few more million into the bay area but SF has geographic
by rb808 9y ago
California is already is the state with the largest population by a long way. Sure you could squeeze a few more million into the bay area but SF has geographic restrictions, esp with water. Surely it would be smarter to encourage more tech firms to move to places where there is more space, like Denver, Chicago, Austin. Basically anywhere off the coasts. Just give on on SF already.
- davidw 9y agoThe city of Tokyo added more housing than the entire state of California in 2014: https://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12390048/san-francisco-housing-costs-tokyo https://www.vox.com/2016/8/8/12390048/san-francisco-housing-... Also, no, California really isn't that crowded. Italy has something like 30% more people on less land, and still manages to be a massive tourist destination because it is amazingly wonderful and beautiful, from the mountains to the cities to the seashores.
- freehunter 9y agoAnd Tokyo is in a huge water crisis and could very soon run out of fresh drinking water for all of their citizens. California, with substantially fewer people moving in, is already in a water shortage. Do you think they can support Toyko-style housing numbers? I say this as someone who lives in the one of the states that West Coast politicians want to steal the water from. Instead of shipping our water across the country to feed the desert, you can... you know... just move here. So the water is fed back where it came from.
- davidw 9y agoMost of the water in CA goes to agricultural uses if I'm not mistaken. Denser cities are far more efficient in environmental terms: no lawns, less fossil fuel usage and so on. Sure, some jobs will go elsewhere, but there are big returns to being where everyone else is. This book does a good job explaining why: https://amzn.to/2KymJj6 https://amzn.to/2KymJj6
- jakelarkin 9y ago85%+ of available water in California goes to commercial agriculture SF residents use 50 gallons/day of water. Compared to 85 gal/day average across the state.
- sbov 9y agoI live in a suburb of LA and roughly 70% of my yearly water consumption goes to irrigation. Another 5% goes to the pool. You could rip all that out, quadruple the density, and get the same water usage.
- rb808 9y agoSure but this is a great example of why you'd want to push back against increasing density. Surely your life is better with the pool and space. Why encourage growing the population of the city? Its not like there aren't lots of other places in the US to live.
- stale2002 9y agoResidential water never made up any significant portion of water usage. Feel free to take long showers, and water your lawn. It is a literal "drop in the bucket" when compared to the actual large industrial water users.
- irq11 9y agoTokyo sprawls across a massive floodplain, and mostly comprises 1-2 story construction. It is not especially dense, and it has spectacular regional transit. Tokyo is not a counterargument to the parent’s point that geographical constraints dominate housing costs in the bay area.
- davidw 9y agoThe comparison was between Tokyo, and the ENTIRE STATE of California if that didn't jump out at you the first time. San Francisco's never going to have 10 million people, but the Bay Area could sure add a lot more. Look at, say, Palo Alto with all its single family housing.
- irq11 9y agoThat’s a ridiculous comparison. I’m certain that the rate of housing construction in Turlock has little/nothing to do with statewide housing medians. Obviously, the vast majority of those California permits are going into the major cities, which are the places that have the geographic constraints. If you want to make the comparison, do it on a properly normalized basis.
- mullen 9y ago> Tokyo sprawls across a massive floodplain, and mostly comprises 1-2 story construction. It is not especially dense You know nothing about Tokyo, especially its housing.
- irq11 9y agoI lived there.