We hear a lot about the housing crisis. We are told that if we just build more, the problem will be solved. There is no doubt we need to build more housing, but just increasing housing supply without accompanying actions to temper rapidly escalating rents does nothing to confront the problem of affordability. Moreover, San Mateo County is projected to add close to 95,000 jobs in the next 25 years. Without countervailing management of the intense job growth fueling the housing demand, supply has little chance of ever catching up.

If we continue down this narrow road thinking that building more is all we need to do, it will lead us to ever-widening income disparity and ever-decreasing diversity. Building more housing for high-income earners does little for those who earn moderate and low incomes. People who live here are being priced out and only the well-off can afford to move here. Hard-working families are being displaced by exorbitant rents and face increasing instability that impacts their family, their health and their livelihood. Ultimately, it undermines the health and diversity of the city itself. – See more.