Part 11/14:
The bill’s advocates may point to the number of units built or the increased height allowances as successes, but the actual impact on affordability remains elusive. The reality, critics say, is that the same constraints—costs, bureaucracy, and market dynamics—persist, preventing meaningful change.
The Economic and Social Reality
The harsh truth is that affordability on the West Coast is largely unattainable for most residents. Wage growth has not kept pace with housing costs, and restrictions on land use make land acquisition prohibitively expensive. As a result, development tends to focus on higher-end units, leaving those with average incomes in a housing squeeze.