Every bit of new construction seems to be mixed use commercial, retail, and housing with large underground parking structures. He's right that its "luxury" condos but its still a lot denser than the traditional two story apartment buildings.
Building luxury condos and apartments is fine. Rich people will live in them instead of outbidding poorer people for the older apartments.
People who oppose luxury apartment construction need to explain how they will prevent rich people from competing with poor people over existing housing and causing the prices to go up.
- Rich people will probably not lower their standards enough to live in what we plebs do, thus move somewhere else, reducing demand
- Doesn't luxury living space pretty much by definition require more space? In other words, you could likely house more poor people there instead, reducing demand for housing. Even if the same rich people move in as well
Yes, those kind of policies seem to be on the more reasonable spectrum to me, though I'd prefer having incentives instead of hard requirements. Of cause prices for luxury space would go up, but this doesn't seem like much of a problem for most residents.
You seem to see new luxury apartment as only option over currently existing housing. That might be the only realistic option when owners want to maximize profits, but for society it might be better to optimize other metrics, like people living there.
i wish all the ugly parking went underground. a lot of new construction in LA is mixed use but most of the parking is above ground in podium style structures because it’s cheaper.
but once you dig the hole, it’s like building the same building but starting 30 feet (or whatever) lower in elevation (yes, that requires reinforcing the ground, more environmental review, etc., but still...)
