I completely agree. However, Microsoft can't pour money into changing zoning (at least, not in a direct way like this). We absolutely do need to be fixing our zoning, both in Seattle and on the Eastside. The problem is, it can't just be one city or a few cities doing it. We need the region to pull together. Right now, there's a huge gulf between people who want this to happen and people who are, for their own reasons, vehemently opposed. You can see some of this divide in this very thread, with words like "Seattlized" being thrown around.

Why can't it just be one city? Becoming Manhattan was a huge boon for Manhattan real estate values.

Manhattan becoming Manhattan at first required inhumane levels of crowding, in tenements that would only have a single bathroom per floor. Today’s Manhattan is well below population peak.

Historically that's probably true. These days, we are much richer and we already know how to build high rises.

Homelessness in LA is not a zoning problem at heart.

A significant number of the homeless in LA (by some estimates as many as half) choose homelessness over shelter because almost all shelters in LA have sobriety requirements (meaning no drugs or alcohol).

There are hundreds of shelter beds in LA that stay empty each night because the homeless who would occupy those beds would rather pass out on the street to their drug of choice.

Definitely a tough issue. I understand why they have those rules for shelters, but it also seems like it reinforces the position these people find themselves in. I don't think we can realistically expect all homeless people to get themselves clean prior to getting in to a shelter. It seems like some sort of shelter must come first, and then the substance abuse needs to be addressed with a support system.

I also don't think that is the only issue with shelter usage. In Denver, a common complaint I hear is that they choose the street over the shelter because they feel both their physical safety and their personal belongings are more secure on the street. I also try to think about this from my own perspective and if I was in that situation, I'd rather find a "place of my own" on the street over a shelter shared by tons of people (unless it was really cold out).

If that's the case (not convinced it is) then the obvious answer is to remove sobriety requirements. bonus points for putting safe consumption sites onsite in shelters.

This is an important issue to me, got any sources? Thank you.