4 ms·
Not sure what "increasing density" you are talking about. No city has done that. SF rejected it, DC, etc. In fact, I'd bet more places have decreased density th
by matchbok 6y ago
Not sure what "increasing density" you are talking about. No city has done that. SF rejected it, DC, etc. In fact, I'd bet more places have decreased density than increase it. The increases have only come in the past 5 years (Portland, Minneapolis)
There's only one guarantee - limiting density in a growing city with jobs does make housing less affordable. That has been the status quo in every major city in the USA over the past 50 years.
- stakkur 6y agoThe intention of the zoning reform linked to here is increasing density in existing low-density areas. Here's (only) one example of analysis of the density<->housing affordability relationship. Spoiler alert: density always increases housing costs in the long run. https://www.newgeography.com/content/005183-what-price-urban-density https://www.newgeography.com/content/005183-what-price-urban... There has never been a city in the US that has made housing more affordable by increasing density or legislating affordable housing. The 'why' of that is complex.
- jeffbee 6y agoWow, talk about missing the point. That analysis looks at the correspondence between equilibrium compactness and price. It does not look at the marginal change in price for a marginal change in density. I hope you can see the logical flaw in your statement "density increases housing costs".
- stakkur 6y agoFrom the article: "The trend, however, is indisputable: Greater compactness increases housing costs." The 'compactness index' they're talking about is centered around density (and the impacts of that on transportation, health, travel distances, etc.). And my 'argument' is not about the negative effect of density--it's that I don't believe that density makes housing more affordable.
- jeffbee 6y agoIt doesn't really matter that the article duplicates your logical error. The evidence in the article is much more ambivalent than you suggest.
- bluGill 6y agoDensity and affordability are independent of each other. Affordability is about supply and demand now. Density is about supply only and says nothing about demand.
- matchbok 6y agoIn times of massive apartment booms, rents have in fact held steady or decreased. Seattle is a recent example. There are only so many people who want to live in a particular city, so supply and demand do play a part here. https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2019/01/apartment-rents-dropping-in-seattle-landlords-compete-for-tenants-as-market-cools.html https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2019/01/apartment-rents-... Based on your logic, we could build more apartments in a particular city than humans exist and rents would continue to go up, even if most of those apartments are empty. That clearly doesn't make sense. Your last argument misses the point. As cities become more fashionable, not building more housing is a guarantee of increased costs due to supply and demand. In cities like SF, rents continue to rise faster than most cities. SF is also the hardest place to build anything. I wonder if those two are related.
- haroldp 6y agoThe striking example that comes to mind is Tokyo. Japan liberalized their zoning after their last housing crisis, and median income families in Tokyo can actually afford to buy homes in the city. https://www.ft.com/content/023562e2-54a6-11e6-befd-2fc0c26b3c60 https://www.ft.com/content/023562e2-54a6-11e6-befd-2fc0c26b3...
- seanmcdirmid 6y agoHousing isn't seen an investment in Japan, homes actually depreciate! The dynamics are way different, so housing is more affordable, but you won't make any money on it.
- neutronicus 6y agoMakes sense for a physical good whose condition deteriorates over time. People making capital gains on houses (whose values are determined mostly by local government and corporate investment relative to the national average) has always struck me as a sign of government being insufficiently aggressive about a) capturing the value it creates with infrastructure investment and b) wringing subsidy from high-paying corporations externalizing the problem of housing their work-forces.
- Tiktaalik 6y agoIt is worth noting that these affordable cities in Japan are wildly sprawling to an extent that I think would be anathema to environmentalists in NA.
- haroldp 6y agoCompared to American cities? This actively fights the American propensity to always build out instead of up.