My husband has bee volunteering with the Santa Clara County’s Affordable Housing committee for the past 8 years and he acutely aware of the shortage of housing in the region. As part of our weekly research we found this creative solution in NYC where housing developers are offered incentives to allocate a portion of their units to low-income residents of the area.
The question then is why aren’t we doing this in Silicon Valley? And will this work in Silicon Valley where the tech-fueled housing boom is pushing more and more low-income residents out of the area since they can not afford to live in Silicon Valley.
The reason we all should care about solving the affordable housing crisis in SIlicon Valley is simple. The successful companies in the Valley need these workers to function. And if we keep forcing them to leave the region, we are only causing more congestion on the already clogged Freeways of Silicon Valley.
As it stands, workers who clean and mange facilities in Silicon Valley, have to live in Stockton or Modesto which is more than an hour away from the region. So, these workers spend more than 2 hours daily on their commute which is costly for the region in terms of pollution and green house gasses.
That’s why Silicon Valley needs a regional solution for both transportation and housing. And the problem is going to get worse since the population of Santa Clara county home to some of the most successful tech companies is going to double in the next decade.
Where do these people plan to live if we do not address the Affordable Housing crisis in SIlicon Valley? What do you think?