[buildsjets]

In 2007, my house was re-zoned from R-9600 (Single family residential, 9600 SF lots minimum) to a high-density transit oriented zoning (the acronym changes every other year, but was originally PCBTPV, Planned Community Business Transit Pedestrian Village), in expectation that a light rail station will be opening within 1/4 to 1/2 mile by 2035. The new zoning requirement is six story minimum, minimum of 50 dwelling units/acre density, tax credits for elder housing and child care facilities, etc.

This is in a suburb just north of Seattle. I am currently 4 miles from the nearest light rail station, which is a 5 minute walk + a 10 minute bus ride that comes along very frequently, then a 40 minute ride to downtown Seattle, so by US suburban standards the foot/transit access is already pretty darn good. There is a small neighborhood market and a few restaurants a 5 minute walk away, and a large supermarket is really only 15 minutes walk. (but yeah, we usually drive there.)

So far, zero occupied single-family houses have been knocked down to build high density developments. There were a few dilapidated/abandoned old houses on large parcels along the freeway that were bulldozed for apartments, which was an improvement. But even if you put policies and incentives in place to encourage re-development, it can take decades for market forces to reach a tipping point where developers are actually willing to make cash offers at or above the market value on existing properties to make these changes happen.

[itsoktocry]

Two hours of daily commute to work, to live in a dense suburban hellscape is "good"?