While the city saw fewer people experiencing homelessness for the first time in years, homelessness across six Bay Area counties grew by 8 percent.

As we noted in a recent story, the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco is lower for the first time since 2015. But just across the bay in Contra Costa and Alameda counties, the picture is less rosy: Contra Costa County’s population of unhoused residents rose by 35 percent, while Alameda’s jumped by 22 percent.
Lauren Hepler, Sarah Ravani, and Yoohyun Jung of the San Francisco Chronicle report on the new numbers. “Six of nine Bay Area counties released estimates on Monday: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Sonoma. They posted a combined 8% increase in the regional homeless population, up to 34,636 people this year compared with 32,043 three years ago.”
“Housing advocates say the crisis is decades in the making, with California lacking some 2.4 million affordable homes for low-income households after years of neighbors and local politicians blocking new development, plus high building costs.” This despite “the unprecedented measures that public agencies took to get people off the streets during the pandemic: paid hotel rooms, sanctioned tent cities, tiny home villages and all manner of encampment sweeps.”
“To more systematically address the underlying lack of housing, groups including [founder and CEO Tomiquia Moss’s] All Home estimate that the region would need to spend at least $6 billion to slash the Bay Area’s unsheltered homeless population 75% by 2024.” The source article details the funding allocated by the state so far, as well as the various responses undertaken by California cities to address the crisis.
FULL STORY: Homelessness surged 35% in one Bay Area county. Here’s what new data for each region reveals

Houston Apartments To Be Demolished for Freeway Widening
Despite a federal hold on the controversial freeway widening project, the Texas Department of Transportation is pushing ahead with the demolition of an apartment complex in downtown Houston.

San Francisco Just Ended Single-Family Zoning
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to Tuesday to eliminate single-family zoning, but pro-development advocates say additional changes are needed to unleash a wave of construction.

Land Banking to Prevent Transit-Oriented Displacement in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will implement a new land banking program to mitigate gentrification and displacement around future transit lines.

Transit-Oriented Walking Tours Highlight the Value of Density
Housing advocates in Connecticut are leading walking tours that fight misinformation about transit-oriented development and emphasize the benefits of increased density.

State Reports Seeks To Guide Warehouse Development in New Jersey
With demand for sprawling e-commerce warehouses growing, New Jersey’s State Planning Commission has released a series of documents outlining best practices for cities examining warehouse proposals.

Manhattan Congestion Pricing Could Start in 2023
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has resubmitted its environmental impact assessment to federal officials, who sent the agency over 400 additional questions earlier this year.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
City of Rolling Hills Estates
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard Graduate School of Design Executive Education
City of Apache Junction
City of Helena
Gallatin County, Montana
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