Gabrielle
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gabriellelei.bsky.social
Gabrielle
@gabriellelei.bsky.social
Housing/Homelessness/Prosocial Policy
A real piece of work.
There is no way around it: the obsession w/ single family homes, suburban sprawl, etc. is not sustainable and protecting this old way of planning will only make housing more expensive and inexpensive for my generation and the gens after mine. It’s pulling the ladder up behind you.
February 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
That said, I don’t think you are making honest intellectual arguments if you’re not open to data that supports some of your own stated goals (preventing displacement). Maintaining that things cannot change is a wild perspective when it comes to housing.
February 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
…public AND private land. You can’t advocate against gentle density increases while also talking about affordability and meeting housing demands. You didn’t even engage with the point I made about protections and displacement measures that should accompany zoning reform.
February 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
You’re marginalizing the data that shows how you can upzone and meet demand with supply side solutions though. What conversation are you even having at this point? Workforce housing, missing middle, etc. is all great. And guess what? Those often require zoning reforms or leveraging both…
February 5, 2025 at 6:13 PM
…and allowed only one home/lot by-right with a 2nd home permitted only if the original home is preserved and up to 6 if the units are deed-restricted affordable. My point is: there are a lot of solutions to protect tenants and prevent displacement while also making much needed zoning changes.
February 5, 2025 at 1:08 AM
3. There are examples of really equitable zoning reforms like in Charlottesville, VA. They allowed 3 homes/lot in single family areas by-right and identified vulnerable neighborhoods that are susceptible to displacement…
February 5, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Okay, well, a couple of things…
1. Airbnb having an interest in zoning reform doesn’t make zoning reform bad. Guilt by association is a fallacy for a reason. Similar to Uber being supportive of congestion pricing in NYC.
2. Zoning in and of itself doesn’t guarantee displacement. Lack of it does.
February 5, 2025 at 1:08 AM
North Carolina just did this at the state level in the hopes to prevent further displacement after Helene. Pretty neat! Anyway, to your point about Airbnb, I will always be an Airbnb hater so I hope your city seriously limits their operation or bans them altogether 🫡
January 31, 2025 at 12:04 PM
I don’t know which city you live in but, based on what we’ve seen in other cities that are struggling with housing scarcity and displacement, upzoning 1-1 and 1-2 single family lots is usually a necessary place to start.
January 31, 2025 at 12:04 PM
What kind of upzoning is causing that kind of displacement in your city? Most upzoning efforts are just making it possible to build duplexes/tri/quads and ADUs on what would otherwise be 1 house. Being in a desirable city w/ high paying jobs/industry is more likely to cause displacement than zoning.
January 31, 2025 at 11:59 AM
When Trump accused democrats of “destroying the suburbs,” he meant that he wants to do away with AFFH. Trump, who has been fined due to AFFH violations/racial discrimination in some of his developments, suspended AFFH regulations in 2018 and I’m sure he’ll do it again.
January 31, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Should we just start blaming ADUs for all of our problems? ADUs gave my dog diarrhea! ADUs made my husband an alcoholic! I failed my drivers test because there were too many ADUs!
January 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
The same way I have never been to any of our libraries here in San Diego and thought “man, it is PACKED in here. So much pressure from those ADUs.”
January 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
The ADU debate has brought up some really wild arguments lately. I read a comment from someone saying that it’s hurting neighbor relations because people are fighting over parking! I’ve lived in plenty of places where I didn’t have guaranteed parking and I never fought with a single neighbor lol.
January 31, 2025 at 2:50 AM
The previous article suggests that ADUs are driving prices up. This other UT article is saying that home prices are going down. Which one is it?

www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/01/28/s...
San Diego is falling behind other cities in home price gains
The S&P Case-Shiller Indices said San Diego County home prices are up 4.45% annually
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:44 AM
The Community 7-Visions Report specifying: “protect the integrity of single-family neighborhoods” was definitely taken to heart. Otherwise, the update includes a lot of great pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure. Good transit planning. Lots of mentions recommending pro-social spaces. Overall solid
January 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
That said, Oracle would love more of our data. I’m happy to have jumped ship and look forward to @bsky.app @skylight.social and similar tech to take hold.
January 26, 2025 at 4:56 AM
As much as I got a kick out of Americans flocking to RedNote - a true digital tea in the harbor moment - I still hate that people are forgetting that being on RedNote is supporting another Trump/Musk type figure. Xi Jinping is an autocrat that censors social apps, like…?
January 26, 2025 at 4:55 AM
Exactly. Context really matters. Here’s a link to the article if you want to weigh in further: jacobin.com/2024/12/an-u...
An Urban Legend
Fifty years after the publication of The Power Broker, the legacy of urban planner Robert Moses is ripe for revisiting.
jacobin.com
January 26, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Unsurprising given the fact that Trump rescinded security protections for former aides and members of his cabinet that are under credible threats from Iran. Trump Admin 2.0 is about vengeance, not governance.
January 24, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I’m down the hill and can do a CPG vent session over coffee anytime ✋🙂‍↕️
January 23, 2025 at 2:53 PM