ROOM TO GROW
By 2035, the Bay Area is projected to grow by 2 million people, with 720,000 more homes and 1.7 million more jobs.
Greenbelt Alliance has found that the Bay Area can accommodate all its projected growth in existing cities and towns, without developing farmland and natural areas. This will help people like teachers and retail workers to live in the communities they serve, and help young people stay in the towns they grew up in.
The room is there:
- Downtowns and near transit stations: according to city plans and the Association of Bay Area Governments, these Priority Development Areas have room for over 60% of the region’s projected growth.
- Vacant lots and shuttered buildings: the remaining homes and jobs can easily be accommodated outside priority areas; 30% of this land is vacant now.
The incentive is there:
- Sizable sites: Two out of three new homes are projected for sites over one acre, and one out of three are projected for sites larger than five acres.
- Profitable locations: More than half the redevelopable land (63%) has buildings worth less than half of the land’s value.
