Affordable housing projects are great in theory…not so much in practice.
“Poor people deserve more parking spots!”
“I want affordable housing but not six stories high!”
“This will ruin our neighborhood aesthetic!”
“Why are my taxes going to pay for someone else’s house?!?!?!?”
And on and on and on.
The same has been true probably since the beginning of time.
People want more housing, schools, homeless shelters, homes for unwed mothers, etc…just not in their neighborhood and not on their dime.
It’s why infrastructure, social engineering and wealth redistribution require government force.
It’s true for projects we like - Golden Gate Bridge, interstate highway system, Hoover Dam.
And projects we don’t - 480 “affordable” apartments on the 5 acre lot next to our subdivision, for example.
Why Affordable Housing Projects are hard.
Building housing is EXPENSIVE.
land is in short supply
every agency even remotely tied to the project gets a cut
financing is expensive
City Councils have limited construction experience
Locals slow progress which leads to delays which drives up pricing
And of course what people think is affordable and what is actually affordable are very different.
“We want all the stuff more expensive houses have but affordable.”
Yeah that’s not possible.
If you want more housing (I’m not sure we actually do) just reduce regulations and expedite permitting.
Or move to places where housing is already less expensive like Texas or the midwest.
Live Free,
Kalian
