Save the Earth vs. House Its People?
Tension has always
existed between environmentalists and affordable housing advocates. Despite recent
attempts to find common ground, no one should be lulled into complacency.
Compact development of affordable housing close to jobs is clearly an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce traffic, but getting the American public to agree will take a concerted effort to convince hard-core NIMBY's and no-growthers, especially in California, of the value of affordable housing.
California’s state-mandated process of formulating plans for each region to reduce GHG emissions has just started. But it's already clear that some government leaders want to achieve these reductions by going into the business of producing clean energy. They would rather start government-owned utilities, competing with established private utilities, than encourage low-wage workers to live closer to their jobs and reduce their commutes.
What's worse, California’s planning law (SB 375) might end up giving suburban jurisdictions and their NIMBY contingents more cover for opposing affordable housing. After all, it's a convenient argument to say that affordable housing should not be built in suburbia because the suburbs have little or no public transit.
PSC intends to bring the disparate parties to the table in an effort to the challenge the paradigm in land use battles over affordable housing, where local opponents use environmental concerns as their primary rationale for fighting against permitting of new projects.
A successful change in mindset would result in a huge shift for affordable housing advocates, from being on the defensive against no-growthers to working with local citizens to recognize the environmental benefit of higher-density, compact development that includes affordable housing.
Such a change will take a concerted effort by all the parties involved in the development of affordable housing, including lenders, investors, and government agencies. PSC is starting to tell the story of how earth-friendly affordable housing can be and to provide tools for building public and political support for that argument.
What are your ideas? What services can we provide to help you win your local land use battles and reduce the added cost of down-zoning and excessive design requirements? Send us your suggestions.
Compact development of affordable housing close to jobs is clearly an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce traffic, but getting the American public to agree will take a concerted effort to convince hard-core NIMBY's and no-growthers, especially in California, of the value of affordable housing.
California’s state-mandated process of formulating plans for each region to reduce GHG emissions has just started. But it's already clear that some government leaders want to achieve these reductions by going into the business of producing clean energy. They would rather start government-owned utilities, competing with established private utilities, than encourage low-wage workers to live closer to their jobs and reduce their commutes.
What's worse, California’s planning law (SB 375) might end up giving suburban jurisdictions and their NIMBY contingents more cover for opposing affordable housing. After all, it's a convenient argument to say that affordable housing should not be built in suburbia because the suburbs have little or no public transit.
PSC intends to bring the disparate parties to the table in an effort to the challenge the paradigm in land use battles over affordable housing, where local opponents use environmental concerns as their primary rationale for fighting against permitting of new projects.
A successful change in mindset would result in a huge shift for affordable housing advocates, from being on the defensive against no-growthers to working with local citizens to recognize the environmental benefit of higher-density, compact development that includes affordable housing.
Such a change will take a concerted effort by all the parties involved in the development of affordable housing, including lenders, investors, and government agencies. PSC is starting to tell the story of how earth-friendly affordable housing can be and to provide tools for building public and political support for that argument.
What are your ideas? What services can we provide to help you win your local land use battles and reduce the added cost of down-zoning and excessive design requirements? Send us your suggestions.