The Demonization of Developers

Emily Badger writes for The New York Times about the "arch-villain status" of developers, and how it came to be an assumed part of the narrative of cities. Merely invoking the name of developers can shut down civic debate, and that must change, according to the premise of the article, to bring down the cost of housing in expensive cities.

Badger writes:

The notion that development is inherently bad, or that developers are inherently bad actors, seems to ignore that the communities residents want to protect from developers were once developed, too, and often by people who made money at it. (That is, unless you believe in “immaculate construction.”)

While acknowledging that developers can be problematic (Robert Moses is mentioned specifically) and that more development is only one of many necessary solutions to the housing affordability crisis, the article recounts the many social benefits delivered by previous eras of development, before digging into the origins of the more pejorative understanding of the word.