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this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2024
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A Boring Dystopia
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Yes. Unfortunately city gov’t always reasons that the public money will be better spent if developers front the cost of building, but the developers aren’t building the kind of housing that houses the populations that need it (and in the Bay Area many of these luxury towers have very low occupancy). I wish my tax money would go directly to building affordable and dignified housing that would be managed by a public trust or similar.
People rag on NYC's projects and claim that they're proof that council housing will always be terrible, but built correctly, affordable housing can be both desirable and yet still profitable for the council.
The key is to spend a little money to make it nice, plant some trees, hire some security guards, and build some respectable communal space that people actually want to be in. Good public transportation links are also important.
In Hong Kong, all blocks of flats built by the Housing Authority will usually have one security guard on duty 24/7. They become a fixture of the community. Of course, Hong Kong public housing projects tend to be 30-storey high rises with hundreds of units each, but one 24/7 security guard per group of buildings should be enough; it's more about the perception of security than anything.
Then charge $700 a month in rent or sell the units for $200,000. Even better—set up financing through a publicly-owned non-profit financial institution or a credit union for potential homebuyers. Reinvest profits to build more. It's a virtuous cycle.
I guarantee there'll be waiting lists three miles long.