Though Silicon Valley has created millionaires it has also generated sky-rocketing housing prices, sprawl, and traffic congestion.
"This is the dark side of regional success in the New Economy. Along with tremendous wealth have come severe problems: astronomically high housing prices, suburban sprawl, traffic, income inequality and economic volatility...While thousands of people became millionaires in building big-name Silicon Valley companies...there was nowhere near enough housing to accommodate the workers those companies attracted. As businesses sprawled south along the suburban peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, the freeways and mass transit systems quickly proved inadequate. Eventually dot-com workers pushed long-time residents out of San Francisco itself... In an earlier era of American history, when heavy manufacturing was the cutting-edge industry, the problems of economic success were pollution and dangerous factory working conditions. Now they are housing shortages and suburban sprawl."
Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan
FULL STORY: Gloom Amid The Boom
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
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.