Increasing density improves the value of the land tremendously.
Opposition to density is about protecting a specific lifestyle, not money.
Opposition to density is about protecting a specific lifestyle, not money.
And it definitely doesn't make rents go down, which if you're a landowner in the bay area is a huge source of revenue.
Yes it does.
If I live in suburbia surrounded by suburbia, my house is worth X, because it's a house in a quiet area. I have to drive to SF to have fun, which sucks because it's far, traffic sucks, and parking sucks.
If I live in suburbia but am surrounded by islands of new mixed-use buildings (housing on top, retail on the bottom), then my house is worth X + Y, because a) it's still a house in a quiet area, but b) it's now also close to walkable outdoor spaces with chic shops and restaurants, at least one of which is likely to become a popular upscale haunt.
I now have the luxury of being able to quickly drive there in my car to hang out, and then quickly go back home to my (large, quiet) house when I'm done. I get convenient use of the new space, without the inconvenience of living in an overpriced shoebox above a nightclub.
It's literally having your cake and eating it too.
But if this is a critique on low density suburbs, then I don't really buy the argument. These new developments are mostly replacing run down commercial areas that are already well separated from suburbanites and their valuable property. They're mostly near transit and other commercial areas, but when they do come near residential zoning, it's almost always older apartments rather than houses.
Even when they do end up on the border of a nice-house-suburb, the sprawl means that relatively few suburbanites live near the border, while relatively many do not, but still enjoy convenient access by car.
People like living close to shopping and restaurants.
The situation you describe is applicable to the apartment complexes and new developments being built along El Camino Real on the peninsula, but you are ignoring the issue of single family home zoning. There is a ton of opposition to upzoning in pretty much all neighborhoods on the peninsula. No body wants a duplex next to their single-family home, so they prevent any zoning changes.