Housing and Land Use

The Bay Area is the most expensive place to live in United States. The cost of housing is the single most important factor driving the cost of living.  The housing affordability crisis is principally a function of supply and demand: a strong demand for a constrained supply has driven prices and rents higher and higher in spite of the sub-prime lending crisis.  In the next 16 years, the Bay Area will have nearly 1 million more people.

The housing crisis negatively impacts both quality of life and the region’s economic competitiveness. The high cost of housing leaves less money available for other quality of life issues, such as paying for healthcare, education or leisure activities. The lack of affordable housing in the interior of the Bay Area pushes the workforce to find housing on the exterior fringes of the Bay Area. These workers drive longer commutes to their jobs, allowing them less time with their families, causing congestion in the counties they commute through as well as substantial air pollution. The lack of new, denser housing in the interior also spurs the loss of farmlands and open space.

The supply of housing must increase to provide a more affordable market for housing in the Bay Area.  Our goal is to secure an adequate housing supply of sufficient affordability for the entire population—particularly for the workforce—in order to sustain long-term economic prosperity.

Many barriers to housing production rest in the public planning and permitting process.  The Bay Area Council housing program is focused on making change to policies and regulations that block and deter housing from being produced in the places that support the smart growth of the region.

Get real on housing developments

Transportation 

The Bay Area Council transportation program works to improve transportation convenience and reliability for all Bay Area residents and businesses. 

While Bay Area population has exploded, transportation investment has lagged.  Predictably, traffic congestion has skyrocketed, commutes times have increased, and the region has become a less hospital place to live, work and do business.  In the new global economy, the transportation infrastructure—sea ports, airports, freight rail, and highways—that supports international trade is key to economic leadership. Local and regional transportation systems remain critically important as well, to ensure quality of life for Bay Area residents and efficient day-to-day operations for Bay Area businesses.

The Bay Area Council transportation program is leading the charge to reverse these dismal trends with efforts to get more service out of our existing transportation system, to raise more funds for the system, and to ensure that investments go towards projects that will best improve the region’s transportation problems.  These efforts will lead to easier commutes, less time stuck in traffic congestion, more convenient transit alternatives, and reduced costs to move people and ship goods in, out and through the region.

Bay Area Housing Profile
 
Local governments are responsible for planning for and accommodating housing.  The Bay Area Housing Profile provides a regular report card with various measures to determine how well the cities and counties in the Bay Area are meeting their housing responsibilities.  The production and placement of housing are key determinants in economic strength and quality of life experienced in the Bay Area.  By tracking the progress and shortfalls, the Bay Area Housing Profile provides a measure of accountability to the region on jurisdiction at a time.  We are currently planning for the next Housing Profile which will track green building standards and codes throughout the region.  Contact Andrew Michael if you have input as to how this report could be structured.
 
Relevant Committees:  
Transportation and Land Use Committee