The Tech Giants Have Promised 4.5 Billion for More Affordable Housing, Will It Work?
Apple, Facebook and Google billions won't fill California's giant housing hole.
Apple, Facebook and Google have pledged to donate a total of $4.5 billion to help address California's shortage of affordable housing. Roughly 500,000 jobs have been created in the Bay area in recent years, but only 50,000 homes. Yet experts say such investments alone won't solve a problem that the state's vibrant tech industry helped create.
Advocates said the money — more than $4.5 billion in corporate giving announced in recent weeks — is welcome and particularly noteworthy because it's coming from companies whose explosive growth has played a role in escalating home prices. Local employers also are finding they need more affordable housing in the region to help attract and retain employees.
But money alone won't solve the problem, housing experts say, because the true fix takes a combination of relaxed suburban zoning and permit regulations from local governments, aggressive home building over the next decade, public transportation alternatives, and a wider array of housing options beside single-family homes.
