Reply to Interesting twist on DC "density argument" - Metro ridership continues to plummet

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The idea that increasing density will reduce housing costs is such a weird lie.

Housing in cities has been getting more dense since forever -- no one has ever torn down a condo building in order to make way for a single-family home. It only goes in the other direction.

And yet the most densely populated places in America -- like DC -- are, as always, the most expensive places in America. [/quote]

What's weird about it? Increasing density increases the supply of housing. Increasing the supply of housing reduces the price of housing. That's basic economics.

The most densely-populated places in America, which are not very densely-populated, are expensive because lots of people want to live there. That's also basic economics. Housing costs are low in Louisa County, Iowa (population density 28 people per square mile) because few people want to live there.[/quote]

"Increasing density" is really just gentrification, and gentrification ("increasing density") drives housing prices up.

Because the more people you pack into an area, the more attractive you make it to businesses. Bars, restaurants, boutiques want to be where lots of people are. Once bars, restaurants, boutiques move in, then the area seems more attractive to many people, which increases demand for housing, which drives prices up. That creates more demand for even more housing, which spurs more condo buildings, which attracts more businesses, which makes the area seem more attractive to more people, which increases demand for housing in that area-- and so on and so on.

It's been happening over and over and over across DC. [/quote]

Gentrification used to be a huge issue in DC. People worried a lot about black people being pushed out of DC to make way for condos for young white lawyers. Then they stopped calling it gentrification and started calling it "increasing density," and suddenly no one cared anymore, even though DC has the worst gentrification problem in the country. Now people act like it's a good thing, all because they renamed it "increasing density." [/quote]

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