The Political Dynamics of Housing: Event Recap
Last week we packed the house at Twilio HQ in San Francisco for our Political Dynamics of Housing event. We spent the evening digging into housing policy, funding for affordable housing, financing development, and providing some historical context for how this crisis came to be. Kim-Mai Cutler, tech reporter with TechCrunch, moderated our panel of experts including community organizers and advocates Rev. Damita Davis-Howard (Oakland Community Organization), Gloria Bruce (East Bay Housing Organization) and Victoria Fierce (East Bay Forward), city planner AnMarie Rodgers (SFPlanning) and market rate developer Eric Tao (AGI Avant).
To kick us off, Kim-Mai laid the groundwork for the evolution of the housing crisis in the Bay Area. Going back to the 60’s and 70’s we saw significantly more affordable housing costs at 1.5x the average income, versus today’s 9–10x the average income, and more young adults purchasing houses. But with exclusionary tactics like redlining, the passing of Proposition 13 in 1978, and a 66.5% decline in affordable housing funds since 2008, it starts to become clear how we ended up where we are today. You can see all of Kim-Mai’s slides here.
Our panelists took the stage and wasted no time shedding light on the work they tackle everyday. From the decline of the African American population in SF dropping down single digit percentages over the last few decades, the overt racism that still exists in zoning laws and housing policies, and the cost, of money and time, it takes to purchase and develop land in San Francisco, our panelists covered a broad range of issues causing today’s housing crisis.
It would be tough to try and write a comprehensive recap of the entire evening, but you can watch a video of the event here. We also asked attendees to write and share their questions via index cards at the event, which we collected and are currently compiling along with answers. We’ll share that in the next few days. In the meantime, if you’re looking to brush up on your Bay Area housing knowledge we suggest taking a look at, or listen to:
Resources on the history of the housing crisis
- How Burrowing Owls Lead to Vomiting Anarchists (or SF’s Housing Crisis Explained)
- Housing is shamefully segregated. Who segregated it?
- The Real Cause of Gentrification
Information about current policy solutions that are being pursued
Be sure to save the date for our next event July 13th! We’re partnering with Opportunity@Work to explore the workforce development system for job ready adults. You can expect a panel of experts to help us breakdown current policies around workforce development, dig into the specifics of the most useful trainings, and highlight barriers to entry and success.
