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Oct. 12th, 2007
Big Rain, Blame for High House Prices
Oct. 12th, 2007 02:55 pmPouring rain here for the first time this season; summer is truly gone. But a nice day to snuggle inside, drink coffee/tea, and talk.
Nice essay on the real reason no one can afford to live here. Yes, land is scarce and expensive, but it's getting approvals to build that costs the big bucks, and the reason for that is that every project is opposed, only a few get through, and even those are scaled down. There's always a good reason to block someone else from living near you -- traffic, noise, property values -- but if you look at our overcrowded highways and wonder why, a good part of it is because our collective desire to live in close-in but uncrowded neighborhoods has doomed thousands to travel umpteen extra miles to work.
I'd like to see a super-high-speed transit line built above the Caltrain right-of-way and thousands of highrises next to it. It would easily be self-financed and rein in the inflated prices of housing down here. Yeah, like that'll happen.
Nice essay on the real reason no one can afford to live here. Yes, land is scarce and expensive, but it's getting approvals to build that costs the big bucks, and the reason for that is that every project is opposed, only a few get through, and even those are scaled down. There's always a good reason to block someone else from living near you -- traffic, noise, property values -- but if you look at our overcrowded highways and wonder why, a good part of it is because our collective desire to live in close-in but uncrowded neighborhoods has doomed thousands to travel umpteen extra miles to work.
I'd like to see a super-high-speed transit line built above the Caltrain right-of-way and thousands of highrises next to it. It would easily be self-financed and rein in the inflated prices of housing down here. Yeah, like that'll happen.