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Zone all housing in the United States such that two and three families can be built anywhere a single family house stands and all housing problems will be resol
by endisneigh 5y ago
Zone all housing in the United States such that two and three families can be built anywhere a single family house stands and all housing problems will be resolved within a decade.
It's that simple.
- wingineer 5y agoOr simpler: remove all zoning restrictions.
- endisneigh 5y agothat would also do it, but it's politically more difficult
- rcpt 5y agoSeriously. Here in Long Beach we have honest-to-god oil derricks right in the middle of our neighborhoods and even on some school campuses. This is despite some of the most restrictive zoning laws one can imagine. If we're not stopping the heaviest of heavy industry from setting up shop right nextdoor then it's pretty obvious that zoning is nothing more than regressive rent seeking from property investors.
- kyleee 5y agoDo they let you start a new oil rig these days or are all those somehow grandfathered in?
- OneEyedRobot 5y ago..or quit importing so many people.
- giantg2 5y agoI highly doubt it would be that easy. Do people want multifamily dwellings in these rich areas with this problem? It seems many people making that sort of money want single family homes that can own.
- endisneigh 5y agoYeah and they still can - no problem
- rufus_foreman 5y agoYour first problem is that two and three families cost more per square foot to build than single family detached and they sell at a discount to single family detached. As you go up the chain, it gets even more expensive per square foot. Anything other than single family only makes sense when land gets really expensive, and/or when it is subsidized. Your second problem is democracy.
- endisneigh 5y agoIs a duplex actually more expensive tho? Randomly just Google'd and found this link suggesting the opposite: https://www.turnerandsonhomes.com/blog/cost-to-build-is-a-2-story-house-plan-less-expensive https://www.turnerandsonhomes.com/blog/cost-to-build-is-a-2-... As for your second point, that's true. Though, if voting were mandatory I doubt it'd be difficult to pass.
- rufus_foreman 5y agoThere's something darkly hilarious about the concept of a democracy forcing people to vote.
- snowwindwaves 5y agoIn desireable locations the land cost is often more than the construction cost, so splitting that land cost across multiple dwellings makes them more affordable. Sure the cost per sq ft is higher when you are putting in three dwellings under one roof than for a McMansion, but you are getting three dwellings that in aggregate should be worth more than one McMansion.
- rufus_foreman 5y agoThat was the "Anything other than single family only makes sense when land gets really expensive" part.
- snowwindwaves 5y agoAre there cities with land that isn't expensive?