Facebook and others raise $ 500 million for the Bay Area housing crisis
In San Francisco alone, about 7,000 people are homeless. There is a lack of affordable housing across the Bay Area, which runs out middle and low income workers as teachers and restaurant employees. Critics say the influx of tech companies and their well-paid workers has contributed to the ongoing housing crisis.
The problem has received national attention and was a topic of great debate during the last election.
The Partnership for Bay's Future has already raised $ 260 million and is looking for more partners.
The group will have two means. One will focus on preserving existing affordable housing units and building new ones. The group uses the second fund to support policy measures that protect and expand affordable housing alternatives.
Adhi Nagraj, San Francisco's director of urban planning organization SPUR, agreed that the contribution is a positive step towards developing more homes. But he told CNN Business that these legitimate efforts should not take money from local, state, and federal governments.
"We need them to invest and not just rely on philanthropy for private donors," he said. 19659003] Todd David, Managing Director of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, told CNN Business that money will help alleviate one of the biggest obstacles to building affordable housing in the Bay Area: funding.
David said that two-thirds of the city is devoted to one-unit to three-unit homes, meaning that affordable alternatives are concentrated in a handful of areas. When some areas become so crowded with low-income housing, residents of more affluent areas are less willing to accept lower-income housing income in their own neighborhoods.
"For wealthy people to ascend and finance affordable housing, one of the significant obstacles to getting it built is removing," he said.
