A couple of weeks ago, I asked what we should call Portland’s transit and real-estate development mafia if not the light-rail mafia. Loyal opponent Dan S suggested the “greater choice mafia.” This, of course, reflects the repeated claim of smart-growth planners that all they are doing is offering people more housing and transportation choices.
Bull. If someone wants to live in high-density housing, they can find it. Most Americans don’t, so there isn’t as much high-density housing as low density. But it is there. Planners want to turn it around — to get more people living in high densities than in low. That’s not offering people a choice — it is taking away America’s preferred type of housing from a large share of American families.
