I saw Madison in this article immediately. I hear a lot of local residents try to deny the fact that we have an acute housing shortage, opposing new construction projects on the grounds that they require tearing down ~~dilapidated dumps~~"affordable housing," which displaces lower-income residents, as if building new market-rate apartments causes wealthier people to move here. Here's the reality:
Alex Horowitz: We're short on all homes. Full stop. There just aren't enough of them. And that means that existing homes are getting bid up because we see high income households competing with low income households for the same residences since just not enough are getting built.
We're a growing city with a healthy economy. People keep moving here, and as they do, housing is like a game of musical chairs, except seats go to those with more money. The Common Council and mayor are trying to do something about it.
Horowitz: So restrictive zoning is the primary culprit. It's made it hard to build homes in the areas where there are jobs. And so that has created an immense housing shortage. And each home is getting bid up, whether it's a rental or whether it's a home to buy.
Restrictive zoning. It makes building new housing illegal in most of the city. The West Area Plan is an incremental step forward on this issue, but of course, change is scary enough to turn people into bullies, literally shouting abuse at city staffers in public meetings. Let's hope that they're tough enough, and wise enough, to keep pushing it forward, because:
Horowitz: [...] And we certainly see some local elected officials and some residents concerned about changes in their community, even though the evidence suggests that allowing more homes is mostly beneficial by improving affordability and reducing homelessness.