What to do with an area that produces some 80 percent of the nation's lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach that lacks in housing for migrant workers? Why build more housing of course. Not so fast say "slow-growth" advocates.
Monterey County has some of the most dramatic views in the world and is home to wealthy landowners who live near the Pacific Ocean. Yet, travel inland a few miles near Salinas and one will find that 39 percent of homes have more than 1.5 people per room, as compared with 0.5 percent of all U.S. homes. According to this article, overcrowded conditions are a direct result from housing prices in Salinas that make it the least-affordable place in the country to live. The median resale price of a single-family home in Salinas was $620,000 in June 2006.
The area around Salinas produces around $3.5 billion of crops yearly. The agricultural workers in the area, most who make slightly above minimum wage, can nowhere near afford the type of house that is required to escape the overcrowded living conditions many are faced with.
One solution, says developers, farmers, and immigration advocates, is to build affordable housing for these workers. However, "slow-growth" advocates have mostly blocked this type of housing through the courts by forming LandWatch Monterey County. Critics of LandWatch contend that these people "found Utopia and don't want anything to change."
FULL STORY: In Tony Monterey County, Slums and a Land War
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.
Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.
In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont