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I'm realizing now that it would take far too long to refute each and every point in one article, let alone both. I'll just leave you with some tweets and source
by ZoomerCretin 4y ago
I'm realizing now that it would take far too long to refute each and every point in one article, let alone both. I'll just leave you with some tweets and sources that support the YIMBY point of view of the housing crisis and let you peruse them at your own rate:
Current Affairs is run by Nathan Robinson, a "socialist" union-buster who fired every Current Affairs staff member that attempted to unionize. That should tell you what kind of socialist he is; a rich trust fund baby that is more concerned with the aesthetic of being a socialist than the real and actual material conditions that socialism is intended to improve.
Dean Preston is a millionaire homeowner "socialist" who blocked a Nordstrom valet parking lot from becoming 400+ homes (many of which would have been reserved for people with below the area's median income) because "it wasn't affordable enough", AKA not perfect. The status quo of zero new housing supply suits Dean's class interests just fine, as his property will appreciate far faster without it.
Now that I've finished with the ad hominem, onto the articles, tweets, and sources:
Removing zoning restrictions is effective in increasing housing construction: https://twitter.com/mnolangray/status/1559610823353307136?s=20&t=7cPESzCFHzLI56-pb01qug https://twitter.com/mnolangray/status/1559610823353307136?s=...
Building more housing, even market-rate housing, reduces aggregate rents and displacement: https://twitter.com/IDoTheThinking/status/1551361508029784066?s=20&t=7cPESzCFHzLI56-pb01qug https://twitter.com/IDoTheThinking/status/155136150802978406...
Real world example: Auckland, New Zealand: https://twitter.com/UrbFuturistDem/status/1549864397027303427?s=20&t=7cPESzCFHzLI56-pb01qug https://twitter.com/UrbFuturistDem/status/154986439702730342...
Vacancies are directly correlated with rent prices.
See New York City: https://twitter.com/NYCComptroller/status/1546867826379685892?s=20&t=7cPESzCFHzLI56-pb01qug https://twitter.com/NYCComptroller/status/154686782637968589...
Vacancies rose during the pandemic as people left the city. Rent fell. Then people came back, reducing housing vacancies. Rent went back up, climbing to new record highs. Vacancy rates determine the price of rent. Building more housing increases the supply of housing, which increases vacancy rates, which in turn slows rent price growth or reduces rents entirely.
This is not a fringe political ideology, but one tacitly endorsed by President Barack Obama: https://twitter.com/cafedujord/status/1541601275212619777?s=20&t=7cPESzCFHzLI56-pb01qug https://twitter.com/cafedujord/status/1541601275212619777?s=...
Current zoning restrictions weren't set in stone from the founding of cities, but enacted in the 70s to prevent population growth after the Fair Housing Act was passed. It had the intent and effect of keeping out poorer residents, a good-enough proxy for people of color. https://twitter.com/mateosfo/status/1540060815490813952 https://twitter.com/mateosfo/status/1540060815490813952
Los Angeles used to be zoned for 10,000,000. New York City used to be zoned for 55,000,000. We can simply remove this outdated restrictions in every city and allow builders to create the housing we need. Imagine a New York City or Los Angeles where rents were $1,500/month, and far lower in the rest of the country. This is the future that the YIMBY movement is fighting for. All it takes is pre-empting local zoning restrictions, which the states of California, Oregon, and Minnesota have already begun to do. [This is how Tokyo's housing prices have grown no more than 10% since the year 2000](https://twitter.com/aaronAcarr/status/1539606088819085312?s=20&t=7cPESzCFHzLI56-pb01qug https://twitter.com/aaronAcarr/status/1539606088819085312?s=...): they set zoning laws at the federal level, and build far more housing than we do.