We need homes. A lot of homes. Not just affordable, but also middle-income homes.
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| I’m fine with all the poors leaving the area. Stop your whining, move back home. |
Anonymous
NP here. You clearly do not understand the statistics you are citing. The civilian labor force says nothing about where jobs are located. It is based on place of residence. It's no surprise at all that jurisdictions with a higher population have a larger labor force, but that tells us literally nothing about where any of those people work. A 2013 Census Bureau report on this topic, based on 2010 population data, estimated that the daytime population of DC increases by about 79%, close to half a million people. A couple VA jurisdictions see their daytime populations increase slightly, but nothing remotely close to DC. Most other jurisdictions in the region have a smaller daytime population than their nighttime population, suggesting a net outflow of commuters. https://census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2013/acs/2013_McKenzie_02.pdf |
Anonymous
How accurate is this, really? The city says my home is a SFH and I share a wall and so does everyone for blocks and blocks around me. Or am I misunderstanding something about this discussion? |
Anonymous
This is not generated by the city but by “advocates” who are trying to claim that there is too much SFH in the city so they are intentionally misrepresenting what is SFH. Basically they are lying. What you will find is also a constant bait-and-switch where townhomes are considered important “missing middle” housing in some contexts and then bad SFH in other contexts. These YIMBYs have a problem with honesty and it’s really tiresome. Most people support more housing but their whole schtick is that social justice is only possible unless you let developers can do whatever they want to maximize their profits. |
Anonymous
You say I used the wrong data but then do not actually cite any data. I specifically used civilian labor force data to exclude military. However if you must, you can review the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data which shows that NOVA still has more jobs than DC proper. https://www.bls.gov/cew/ You also refuse to address the point about average commute times. Why does it take people in DC the same amount of time to get to work as people in the suburbs. If there is no benefit to your maniacal push for more density then what’s the practical point? |
Anonymous
|
Better to build more 4-8 story apartment buildings downtown and near transport nodes than exacerbate sprawl by only allowing densification of suburbs.
All zoning should be densified and multiple use. Copy Japan's 12-zone model. http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html Permitting needs to be simplified. By-right development within zones, and use of appropriately certified and bonded third-party inspectors, with digital records of progress inspections and code compliance. UNTAX homes & the buildings that support living & working. Exempt building values from property taxes. |
Anonymous
The options are not status quo vs 4 story buildings. The options are status quo vs these gargantuan, monstrously and oversized buildings. It’s telling that your real objective is just “property rights”. You’re just a libertarian hiding behind messaging to make it sound like you care about justice. |
Anonymous
|
I agree DC needs more middle income housing. While we are building more townhomes and condos, the townhomes are still often out of reach for true middle income people (HHI <150-180k). And most condos in the city are not built for families (few units with more than 2 bedrooms, emphasis on amenities likely to appeal to childless professionals but not necessarily to families). All the incentives in DC are to build high end units with a small footprint so as to squeeze as much profit as possible out of real estate.
There are some incentives for low-income and subsidized units, but developers seek to merely qualify for the bare minimum of these, and middle income folks often don’t qualify. It us very hard to find adequate housing in DC for a middle income family. Close in suburbs are often no better because while there is more family housing, it is largely less dense and therefore no more accessible. Far out suburbs are cheaper and have family housing, but long commutes are particularly hard on families due to childcare needs and the importance of family time on the health and well-being of kids and marriages. And mid-income people are often less able to work remotely because they are more likely to work in service jobs (teaching, non-doctor healthcare roles) or customer-facing industries (food, retail, events). So yes, we need more duplex and triplexes, more pop ups, more 3+ bedroom apartments, more townhouses near public transit. Notice I’m not even saying we need this stuff near “good” schools or in more desirable neighborhoods. Families will accept middling schools and less perfect neighborhoods if they can just get on the property ladder. Right now, other than EOTR, and a handful of far NE and SE neighborhoods WOTR (many of which have poor transit options) there are very few options. And prices in places like Hyattsville, Silver Spring, and Mt. Rainier are rapidly moving out of reach as well. If your only options for housing in DC for a family of 4 with an HHI of 150k involve an hour plus commute, people will just choose to leave. |
Anonymous
I'm not hiding it...property rights presage any "justice". I'm perfectly willing to tax the heck out of those government-enforced property rights, provided we exempt the building value. The Single Tax on land values frees humanity from rentiers, equalizes historical inequity, houses the homeless, feeds the hungry, and cares for the sick. Why do we tax the houses and housers, the feeders, and the carers? Because we don't raise enough money from the Land-Lords. |
Anonymous
|
I'd be glad to live in a 2BR + Den home in a 12 story building if it's got easy access to:
a place to grill and eat outdoors a place to keep bicycles and kayaks and canoes where they won't be stolen a place for my kids to run and play with sticks and dirt a place for my kids to climb and swing and play with other kids (these have to be free from harrassment by addicted and unpoliced homeless and distant from their uninspected 'homes' and latrines.) a place to grow corn and pumpkins and peppers and tomatoes a place to build stuff like boats and furniture and gadgets a place to ride bikes in the woods schools that focus on empowering learners and meeting each student's needs rather than "narrowing the gap", which necessarily de-emphasizing supporting those at the top of the gap. All of this leads to the suburbs. Far suburbs, really. |
Anonymous
I think your libertarian fantasies have been indulged enough. |
Anonymous
What I f we don’t want cheap housing in nice neighborhoods? |
Anonymous
| We bought into the DMV market during the Great Recession. Paid "only" $300k for a very nice, 4-bedroom townhome in a middle class neighborhood. We were the only bidder so there wasn't any escalation in the price. We would have rented otherwise. Those were the days to be a buyer in the DMV! A seller not so much... |
Anonymous
|
For some reason my quote button disappeared, but for PP who would be happy in an apartment building given space to build a boat and bike im the woods...hahahahaha. No, you wouldn't be happy, those are far suburbs or rural requirements.
Fortunately, most of the rest of what you want can be accomplished with rowhomess or multi-unit buildings with outdoor space, and a lot of peole are willing to compromise a bit on their wants for location or affordability (e.g. i wanted a garage or shed, we don't have space, but I'll live). I really do think zoning for more of these in close-in areas with good schools is a great idea. I don't understand why having mixed housing types in a nice neighborhood automatically makes it a worse neighborhood. |
Anonymous
Agreed! I don’t even think it would depress home values because the value of SFHs on larger lots would likely go up if developers knew they could subdivide them and sell multiple units out of them. Plus the generalized fear of having neighbors from a lower SES class is ridiculous at best and racist at worse. As though people people trying to buy small, affordable homes in good school districts are going to rob you or something. They are embracing YOUR values by wanting to live in your neighborhood. They are trying to buy in. What threat do they pose? |