> You can substitute "Bay Area" with many of the major centers in the US at this point - Seattle, LA, Denver, Austin all have the same issues, they're just a few years behind the Bay.
Not the same issues. Seattle doesn't have anything like Prop 13, or nearly as bad height restrictions. City residents and council are much more supportive of upzoning than SFBA — as in, it actually happens.[0]
Plenty of actual issues, and development still lags demand. But the situation is not nearly as dire as SFBA, and it's not getting worse quite as fast.
Yep, you are absolutely right that there is still (some) NIMBYism and an overemphasis on SFH in Seattle. The distinction I want to draw with SFBA is the degree.
There's a tipping point where the NIMBYs have enough power to block all or most upzoning and development, and I think — fortunately for us — Seattle has not passed that threshold. SFBA has.
Not the same issues. Seattle doesn't have anything like Prop 13, or nearly as bad height restrictions. City residents and council are much more supportive of upzoning than SFBA — as in, it actually happens.[0]
Plenty of actual issues, and development still lags demand. But the situation is not nearly as dire as SFBA, and it's not getting worse quite as fast.
[0]: https://seattle.curbed.com/2017/11/9/16629248/seattle-hala-m...