Housing in Santa Cruz

Between 1990 and 2019, Santa Cruz’s population increased by just over 32%. Housing supply increased by about 23%.  Employment stayed relatively flat*.

We want to know what happened

In our six-week series “Why Santa Cruz?” (October 2019), we dug into the unique corner of culture and climate that draws entrepreneurs (specifically tech entrepreneurs) to Santa Cruz, beyond the one-dimensional “good vibes, surf’s up” stereotype...which is certainly not untrue, but isn’t nearly the whole story. A big part of living in Santa Cruz is...well, where to do it. Housing.

Over the next three weeks, Santa Cruz Works will look at Santa Cruz’s “unique” housing crisis. Is tech to blame? We’ll be holding data up right up next to local culture and politics to see if they overlap. Where does anti-growth sentiment come from? Do we really understand that housing is not a single crisis, but three? Are we prepared to do what it takes to solve it? Speculation is fun, but we prefer truth and science.

NIMBYism spares no expanding or gentrifying place, and it hasn’t spared Santa Cruz. Where does the desire to stop a city’s growth stem from? Is it an urge to preserve a place’s personality, or is it driven by something larger and more complex?

Experts and advocates have long and loudly been trying to tell us that there is only one way to solve homelessnes: affordable, safe, stable housing.

So why are we so hesitant to build it? Or, if we’re not afraid (because, certainly, there are many in Santa Cruz who are in fierce support of more high-density and low-income housing), how do we envision the future of Santa Cruz changing with the arrival of more apartment complexes and condos?

What we’re interested in is perspective—a local perspective—that stems from facts, data, history, and political decisions of the past several decades (thank goodness there’s a paper trail!). The complexities of Santa Cruz’s culture, geography, and politics set it apart as a growing city. What makes “our” housing issues different from those of other small cities that are arterially connected to huge economic and culture hubs?

We want to hear from you—really. What’s on your mind when it comes to the housing market and supply in Santa Cruz? What do you want to know about high-density and low-income housing? Reach out to us.

This article written by Julia Sinn and Doug Erickson

*Source: State of California, Department of Finance, E-5 Population and Housing Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State — 1990-2020. Accessed March 1, 2021. https://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/

**Source: http://www.freddiemac.com/research/insight/20181205_major_challenge_to_u.s._housing_supply.page