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Like most things they do in Oregon, this will certainly not have the desired effect. Infrastructure in Portland is stressed enough without doubling density. Tur

Like most things they do in Oregon, this will certainly not have the desired effect. Infrastructure in Portland is stressed enough without doubling density. Turning 1 $600K home into two $500k homes isn't going to help anyone but the speculating developers.

geezerjay 7y ago
Your hypothetical example assumes that this measure leads available housing to double while prices fall about by about 15%, and even so your conclusion is that this doesn't help anyone?
- epistasis 7y ago
  This is a very common view in certain areas that otherwise have progressive views. In these terms, the profit of developers is an evil that exceeds the benefit of any person having housing. In particular, new people are often considered nuisances or a burden or something that is bad for the neighborhoods, even.
epistasis 7y ago
Turns out that the people that can afford $500k but not $600k are people, and they will be helped by this. Higher densities will enable more efficient public transit, greatly helping our environment, and helping people get their commutes back under control. Also helped will be future generations that will get to live in denser communities, with more neighbors and more kids that their children and be friends with. And of course it will help in the walkable neighborhoods to give more people access to them. And I think you under estimate the ability of more duplexes to moderate the most exploitive aspects of the housing markets. In demand, high expense areas have prices that rise spectacularly, turning every single family home owner into a speculator. Ironically, developers of duplexes and fourplexes are not speculators, certainly not to any degree that the homeowning residents are. Developers perform a service, enable more people to live in a place. The residents just get to benefit from others' hard work at making an area more desirable.

geezerjay 7y ago

Your hypothetical example assumes that this measure leads available housing to double while prices fall about by about 15%, and even so your conclusion is that this doesn't help anyone?

epistasis 7y ago
This is a very common view in certain areas that otherwise have progressive views. In these terms, the profit of developers is an evil that exceeds the benefit of any person having housing. In particular, new people are often considered nuisances or a burden or something that is bad for the neighborhoods, even.

epistasis 7y ago

Turns out that the people that can afford $500k but not $600k are people, and they will be helped by this. Higher densities will enable more efficient public transit, greatly helping our environment, and helping people get their commutes back under control. Also helped will be future generations that will get to live in denser communities, with more neighbors and more kids that their children and be friends with. And of course it will help in the walkable neighborhoods to give more people access to them. And I think you under estimate the ability of more duplexes to moderate the most exploitive aspects of the housing markets. In demand, high expense areas have prices that rise spectacularly, turning every single family home owner into a speculator. Ironically, developers of duplexes and fourplexes are not speculators, certainly not to any degree that the homeowning residents are. Developers perform a service, enable more people to live in a place. The residents just get to benefit from others' hard work at making an area more desirable.