"there is only so much real estate on the planet." Only a NIMBY sees the earth in that very restricted way.

More anti-science activism from The Stranger.

There is a way of seeing, the Scientist's way, wherein a sphere of a given radius has a fixed, finite surface area.

And then there is another way of seeing, the Ideologue's way, that says "Be silent, Science. Sit down and and shut up, for Political Philosophy is speaking, and you must always defer to your betters. Know your place, Science."

FYI, there was a "blind and busted" house on 10th and Newton in Capitol Hill that sold for almost $900K just last year. It's finally been torn down, as it's been condemned for (apparently, according to Ed Murray), over 20 years.

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1938-1…

Repairs on the house alone are expected to be $300,000.

I lived for more than a decade only a few miles away. They're not going to spend anything to repair it; they'll tear it down and start from scratch. People are doing exactly that to similar midcentury ranch houses in Lafayette and Orinda that don't have any structural issues.

Charles, for $125,000 you can buy a plot of land in Magnolia from the 1996 landslides.

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Seattle/1737-P…
http://kuow.org/post/perkins-lane-seattl…

@1 There is only so much land on the planet, but there doesn't have to be so little real estate. That is the point. Change the zoning, and you have a lot more places where people can live. A lot of them are small, but affordable. Look to Tokyo for an example.

@1: Yes, a sphere has a finite surface area.

We've gotten pretty good at packing people vertically in the last 2,000 years though, so surface area is not everything.

Not that any of this matters to my generation, we'll never be able to afford a home, so all I have to worry about is how far refrigerator box technology will come by the time I'm too feeble to work.

@6

People of your generation are moving to Seattle and buying up homes like hotcakes.

It's practically the only thing anyone talks about around here, I'm surprised you haven't noticed it.

I mean, yes, rich people of your generation, too true, but it sure as heck isn't retirees flooding into town and pushing up prices.