Rethinking Single Family Living

Looks like single-family neighborhoods are about to get a whole lot more crowded. Bay Area cities are starting to allow the construction of multi-family units like in-laws and fourplexes in residential areas.

​Why? Because housing costs are out of control and single-family zoning (and its racist past) is to blame. It turns out that single-family zoning, which limits development to one home per lot, was actually created in 1916 (in Berkeley of all places!) to keep Black-owned dancehalls and Chinese laundromats out of certain neighborhoods. I guess people didn't like clean clothes or fun times back then?

​Fast forward a century and now it's just keeping out everyone who can't afford a single-family home. So it's time to break up the white picket fence monopoly and create more housing options for BIPOC. While it's certainly not the end-all-be-all solution to racism in real estate, it could be a baby step in the right direction.