4 ms·
Interesting article. I wonder how much of the income disparity would be relieved if there was more room to build affordable housing, as in the "limitless" citi
by blisterpeanuts 13y ago
Interesting article. I wonder how much of the income disparity would be relieved if there was more room to build affordable housing, as in the "limitless" cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas where you can buy a nice 3 bedroom 2 bath for $150K.
In Phoenix, there are also rich people and poor people, but not the stark contrast of Silicon Valley. Fewer billionaires, I think and also the neighborhoods are so vast and more or less homogeneous in tract size that you don't really notice wealth disparity. The average family pretty much lives in a house with a yard and 2-car garage, regardless of income. You can get in your car and drive to tony gated communities in Scottsdale and peek over the walls, but who would? You have your job, your two cars, your Harley, and your flatscreen, and life is good.
Maybe California can find a way to build out onto the ocean as was done in Singapore, and relieve the housing pressure a little. God, I'd love to be making the kinds of software engineer salaries that they offer out there, but the housing -- yikes!
- ryandrake 13y agoEven if there was room for affordable housing, who would build it? Home builders need to make a profit, and you do that by building $900K luxury townhomes, not by building $400K roach traps that need tax payer subsidy to break even. Do you think the tax payers lounging in their Atherton mansions give a crap about housing for poor and middle class people?
- wyclif 13y agoWhoa, wait. A $400K home is a "roach trap"??? Seriously? Seriously?
- webmaven 13y agoI think what was meant was a $400k building filled with roach trap apartments.
- blisterpeanuts 13y agoIf market conditions warranted it, someone would find a way to make a profit on modest construction. I would think that the Bay area is bursting with people yearning to buy a real house for around $350K or less. If you could magically find the land to create such a subdivision, I'd bet you'd sell out in days.
- woah 13y agoScrew the ocean, I wish California could find a way to build in the Sunset!
- malyk 13y agoThe absolute last thing anybody needs is more horrible sprawling "cities" like those in the sunbelt.
- qq66 13y agoWhat, specifically, is wrong with them?
- joshAg 13y agosacramento might be a good comparison for that perspective.