This constituency can't show up because they're priced out of living in the communities in which they work or would work. The only solution is top-down regional planning that runs roughshod over local concerns in order to solve the regional crisis.

If renters and those who appreciate density are never close to the majority of constituents, how does showing up help?

Renters are a voting majority here, and successfully passed rent control, at the same time, the city council down-zoned the city, and NIMBYs are able to stop developments via California's crazy environmental review process. So, we have a shortage and rent control, which means Mountain View is becoming more unaffordable to every newcomer, but some renters will have some protection.

The local residents show up in droves to oppose housing, particularly the home owners, with the arguments being "the infrastructure can't take any more". They never hold the city to its responsibility or providing infrastructure, instead, use the bad infrastructure as an excuse to stifle development.

It's a backwards, topsy turvy world here. City governments are meant to serve people, not rule over them.

> Renters are a voting majority here

> The local residents show up in droves to oppose housing

If renters are the majority, why are they not voting out city government representatives who don't support upvoting and density?

Because they vote in all the Democrats, irrespective of views, as long as the party affiliation is correct. There isn't that much choice. The city council has seven members, three-ish are usually up for re-election, and you'll have a choice of maybe six on the ballot, half Democrats, and that's the half that gets all the votes.

The far left fringe believes supply & demand is a Reagan conspiracy, and the rest aren't currently engaged on housing issues.

How does showing up help any activist campaign? Participation in these decisions is tiny (sometimes unilateral - one retired lawyer can set a project back years), many people don't know about the issue or don't have an opinion, those who do have opinions aren't necessarily showing up to speak and vote for them. Everyone notices the cost of housing, but few realize it's a political issue that they even could vote about.

In general the story is broad and diffuse support for more housing, tightly concentrated and intense opposition to particular projects. There are many more NIMBYs than BANANA.

That’s democracy. The residents get to choose what happens in their community. If they don’t want to fill the Bay Area with slums and housing projects, they can make that choice and keep people out.

Agreed about democracy. Can’t force upzoning and density if existing population doesn’t want it and votes against it.