It’s perfectly rational for homeowners to object to the construction of Affordable Housing in their neighborhood that would bring in large numbers of people of lower socioeconomic status, thus worsening crime and hurting their children’s education at the neighborhood school by increasing the percentage of disruptive students.
But there is a moderate compromise between NIMBYism and Affordable Housing: encourage the construction of upscale condos, duplexes, and town houses that would attract desirable neighbors. That kind of construction increases the total housing supply and thus decreases the cost of housing across the city without excessively punishing the residents who have maintained successful neighborhoods.
