The Whole Problem Is That There Is No Housing Boom in Silicon Valley
4th May 2013
In the technology capital of the world, we’re making very scant use of the technologies of steel frame construction and elevators. Land is scarce in the corridor running between I-280 and US-101 from San Jose up to San Francisco, but it’s not all that scarce. It’s just not being used very intensively. Because zoning generally mandates low-density uses and because the California Environmental Quality Act perversely hyper-empowers NIMBYs to block projects even though California’s pleasant climate makes it one of the most ecologically sustainable places for new housing to go. There is no housing boom there, but the region—and the country as a whole—would be a much better place if there were.
And this is in the heartland of people who vote for politicians who constantly push for higher and higher urban densities, along with its traditional infrastructure, such as rail lines.