Opinion: San Diego’s New Urban Plans Will Foster Affordable, Inclusive Communities

When my landlord decided not to renew my lease, I was thrust into San Diego’s brutal housing market. After weeks of searching, I found a new apartment, but at a much higher cost. My experience is just a small part of a larger crisis affecting thousands in our city, where even middle-class families struggle to keep up with rising housing costs.

To address this crisis, San Diego has developed new community plans for neighborhoods like Hillcrest and University City. These initiatives aim to create more homes near public transit while maintaining the unique character of our communities.

In Hillcrest, the new plan allows for 17,200 additional homes along major streets, a significant increase from the current 4,900. This doesn’t mean wall-to-wall high-rises, though. The plan carefully balances growth with community needs by including a new bike lane, preserving LGBTQ+ cultural sites, and making streets safer for pedestrians. It even establishes an Cultural District to celebrate the neighborhood’s history and identity.

For working families and young professionals, this could mean more opportunities to live in a vibrant, walkable neighborhood close to jobs and amenities.

University City’s plan takes a similar approach, leveraging the new trolley line to add up to 30,000 homes near stations. This is crucial for an area that currently has three jobs for every home, forcing many workers into long commutes.

By nearly doubling the community’s housing capacity by 2050, the plan could help more people live closer to where they work. This could mean the difference between a reasonable commute and hours spent in traffic.

These plans also align with our climate goals. By making it easier for people to live near transit, jobs, and daily necessities, we can significantly reduce car dependency. In fact, the University City plan allowing for the most new homes was found to be the best for the environment because it would lead to less driving overall.

Focusing growth near transit and existing services allows us to accommodate more people without need for costly new roads and utilities. This approach not only cuts down on traffic but also makes better use of our taxpayer dollars.

Moreover, the plans prioritize quality of life as communities grow. For instance, the University City plan sets aside 171 acres for open space. This ensures that as the neighborhood becomes denser, residents still have access to nature and recreation, maintaining a balance between urban living and green spaces.

It also supports local businesses by creating walkable communities with built-in customer bases. More residents mean more potential customers for shops and restaurants, helping to maintain vibrant local economies.

Some worry these plans won’t create truly affordable housing. It’s a valid concern, but here’s why these plans can help: By increasing the overall supply of homes and requiring developers to include affordable units or contribute more to public housing funds, we can create more options across various price points. This approach helps everyone from young professionals to seniors on fixed incomes find suitable housing.

Change isn’t easy, and these plans aren’t perfect. But the alternative — doing nothing as housing costs continue to soar — is far worse. San Diego needs over 100,000 new homes to meet its housing goals set by the state. These plans offer a path to meet this need while creating more livable, sustainable communities for all of us.

By supporting these initiatives, we can build a San Diego where housing is more affordable, where people have real choices in how they get around, and where great neighborhoods are open to everyone — not just the wealthy. We can create a city where the California Dream remains achievable, from young families just starting out to seniors who want to age in place in the communities they love.

The choice is clear, and the time to act is now.

Saad Asad is the advocacy and communications chair for the YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) Democrats of San Diego County. He lives in Mission Hills.