I'm embarking on my next life chapter: mobilizing for middle housing!

Hi, I'm Elaine

Everyone needs a home. 

• Housing is foundational for physical health, mental well being, social cohesion.

• Housing is critical for kids to achieve educational outcomes

• Housing is a baseline for economic prosperity

• Housing is a precondition for good community health 

• Without stable, economically attainable housing for all ages, we prevent existing and future generations from realizing their potential

Yet for decades, especially in California, we have made it increasingly difficult to build the homes our communities need.  In the 25 years since I graduated college, the median home price in my college town has quadrupled from an already expensive  $750,000 to $3 million today.  In the 20 years since I graduated from architecture school, housing has become more and more complex to construct, driving costs to well over $500/sf. 

But it doesn't have to be this way. Before the 1960s, and the application of restrictive zoning, environmental laws, building codes, fire codes, and energy codes, our communities added homes that were naturally walkable, transit oriented, mixed use and mixed income. Duplexes, quadplexes, town homes, row homes, cottage clusters all mingled happily amongst single family buildings.  Today I live in such a community, and it is the best lifestyle.  To allow more people to achieve this lifestyle, we can and must begin to unwind our misguided rules to allow more of these homes in our communities. 

It's time for abundant housing in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm embarking on a journey to mobilize for more middle housing, re-densify our neighborhoods gently, the way most communities around the world historically housed their people.  If this mission aligns with your interests and values, let's connect!