The Fight for Affordable Housing

Summary

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WSJ What’s News: "The Fight for Affordable Housing"

Date: June 22, 2026
Host: Daniel Bach (filling in for Luke Vargas)
Episode Theme:
A deep dive into the ongoing US housing shortage—exploring the challenges, local zoning battles, and potential solutions, with a special focus on tensions around affordable housing construction. The episode features reporting from Menlo Park, interviews with local advocates and business owners, plus broader analysis of national trends with WSJ reporter Rebecca Pichotto.

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Episode Overview

The episode debuts a new series focusing on solutions to the US housing crisis. The centerpiece of this edition is the persistent "zoning tug of war" playing out across the country, illustrated by a contentious affordable housing proposal in Menlo Park, California. The show explores why well-intentioned efforts so often stall and looks at where reforms are succeeding or encountering new obstacles.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Menlo Park Case Study – The Local Housing Tangle

[06:59 – 09:50]

• California’s Housing Mandate: The state faces a shortfall of 2.5 million homes. Lawmakers have tried to ease approvals, especially near public transit.
• Menlo Park Proposal:
  • A plan for 345 very low-income housing units over three downtown parking lots (serving families of four earning $60k–$93k/year).
  • Leora Tanwatko Ross (California Director, YIMBY Action) describes the proposed development area:

    “This kind of like the service entrance to all these places. And it’s really just ripe for new buildings and places to live. … We could go up. Absolutely, we could.” (08:00)

• Local Pushback:
  • Businesses, led by grocer Richard Drager, oppose the plan due to lost parking and potential shocks to local commerce.

    “Every single parking space … represents a certain percentage of your sales. When you take away 50%, now try to make ends meet.” (08:45, Drager) “As these small independent businesses get pressure, who takes over? … It’s another big chain operation.” (09:10, Drager)

  • Storefronts display signs urging voters to "Save Downtown Menlo" by supporting a November ballot measure requiring a public vote before repurposing parking lots.
• Stalemate Predicted: YIMBYs vow to sue if projects are delayed; "death by a thousand cuts" cited for why so many proposals fall apart.

  “If you say … this housing proposal needs to fix every problem … then builders will just simply pull out.” (09:50, Tanwatko Ross)

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2. National Zoning and Policy Trends

Interview with Rebecca Pichotto (WSJ’s Residential Rental Market and Housing Policy Reporter): [10:08 – 14:46]

Successes in Easing Zoning

• Minneapolis:
  • The "Minneapolis 2040" plan eliminated single-family zoning and parking minimums, increasing construction.
• New York City:
  • “City of Yes” rezoning, described as the city’s most comprehensive overhaul in decades.
• Effect:
  • These measures effectively increased supply when paired with relaxed long-standing rules.

    “…You’re seeing success especially when it comes to relaxing some of these age-old zoning laws.” (11:21, Pichotto)

Unintended Consequences & Setbacks

• Portland, Maine:
  • "Inclusionary zoning" (affordability requirements) has actually slowed construction as developers face rising costs and interest rates.

    “…Developers are now saying that these affordability requirements have become financially untenable.” (11:44, Pichotto)

Targeted, Incremental Approaches

• “Lighter Touch” Density:
  • Policies allowing more duplexes and accessory dwelling units (ADUs) add housing quietly, without drastically changing neighborhood character.
  • Example: Ouachita, KS, where “build two homes on one lot, get two streams of revenue.” (12:40, Pichotto)
• Modular and Factory-Built Housing:
  • Gaining ground for speed/cost, but meeting resistance over aesthetics:

    “But these are not always architectural masterpieces, these modular apartment buildings and modular homes. So you tend to see some resistance to that aesthetic disruption.” (13:45, Pichotto) “The cookie cutter blocks of new apartments.” (13:53, Host)
    “Exactly … it does get the housing built more quickly. The technology is advancing … but it’s a work in progress.” (13:56, Pichotto)

Political and Market Pressures

• Housing affordability now dominates voter concerns. Lawmakers—on both sides—face populist pressure to claim progress before November elections.

  “Every politician … wants to show they have a victory on housing. This is now a political priority for lawmakers in Washington.” (14:20, Pichotto) “High housing costs are now reshaping the life milestones of the average American … Elected officials feel much more pressure from voters to get this house in order.” (14:32, Pichotto)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On systemic local obstacles:

  “Housing really dies a death by a thousand cuts.” (09:50, Leora Tanwatko Ross)

• On community backlash:

  “Every single parking space is … a certain percentage of your sales.” (08:45, Richard Drager)

• On evolving YIMBY/NIMBY arguments:

  “Many of these reasons are the ones we’ve heard for decades … Aesthetic pushback, traffic constraints, the feeling that a city doesn’t have the infrastructure to support new population …” (13:21, Rebecca Pichotto)

• On political momentum:

  “This is now a political priority for lawmakers in Washington. … Elected officials feel much more pressure from voters to get this house in order.” (14:20/14:46, Pichotto)

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [06:59] – Introduction to the California housing battle (Menlo Park case)
• [08:00] – Leora Tanwatko Ross describes the site for proposed low-income housing
• [08:30] – Richard Drager, local grocer, details business opposition
• [09:50] – Tanwatko Ross on why proposals collapse; “death by a thousand cuts”
• [10:08] – Rebecca Pichotto, WSJ, joins to analyze national zoning trends
• [11:21]–[12:40] – Success stories: Minneapolis, NYC, and “lighter touch” density
• [13:21]–[13:56] – NIMBY arguments and modular housing pushback
• [14:20]–[14:46] – Housing as a rising national political issue

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Conclusion

This episode outlines why well-intentioned housing efforts so often stall: local resistance, regulatory bottlenecks, and economic barriers. Yet there are glimmers of hope—cities that have eased old rules are making headway, and political pressure is mounting for action. As Menlo Park’s saga reveals, negotiating community interests and developer needs remains a delicate, contentious dance.

The series will continue with the next episode, shifting to labor and affordability issues shaping new homebuilding in America.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

President Trump's post threatened to disrupt talks with Iran, but both sides agreed to continue. Plus, yet another British prime minister resigns. And we kick off a new series looking at how to fix the US Housing shortage.

[C]

Housing really dies a death by a thousand cuts. If you say like, you know, this housing proposal needs to fix every problem. It needs to provide housing, but it also needs to make sure it fixes all the traffic problems in our town, then builders will just simply pull out.

[B]

It's Monday, June 22nd. I'm Daniel Bach for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. And here is the AM edition of what's news, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. We begin in Switzerland, where the US And Iran have agreed to continue negotiations towards shoring up a preliminary peace deal to end the war. Vice President J.D. vance was there to lead the talks over the weekend, which the US had hoped would center around curbing Tehran's nuclear program.

[D]

The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle east permanently, or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference, but it's certainly very much something that can happen.

[B]

For now, the sides have agreed to a mechanism aimed at ending fighting in Lebanon, a key sticking point for Iran. Journal Middle east correspondent Benoit Foucault is in Lausanne following talks and says Vance was put in an awkward position following some social media posts by President Trump when which Iran's lead negotiator took exception to.

[E]

Khaliba was very angry that Trump obviously threatened Iran over his support of Hezbollah during the talks. Obviously didn't know during the session because they don't have their phones. But once he came out, I mean, I was told by someone who was present that he said, you know, did you know that your boss was going to say that? You know, it kind of really causes into question sincerity of this talks of disengagement. And that was very embarrassing for fans, obviously. But the talks through intermediaries did continue and make a lot of progress. So Iran really wants to make progress because that means it's going to be cash coming into its coffers that he badly need. It's an economic crisis, cash that can come over for unfrozen assets or for oil sales. So they kind of become very pragmatic when it comes to that conversation.

[B]

In a statement earlier today, Qatar and Pakistan said a line of communication between Iran and the US had been formed to avoid incidents and enable safe passage for commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz. The statement also said that technical talks will continue for the remainder of the week in Switzerland. On all issues in the uk, Keir Starmer has announced he's stepping down as prime minister.

[F]

The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election. I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question and I accept that answer with good grace. Every decision I have taken has been about putting the country I love first. That is why I will resign as leader of the Labour Party.

[B]

Starmer's decision comes just days after former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham was elected to Parliament on a promise to launch a leadership challenge to out Starmer and shake up the ruling Labour Party.

[F]

I have spoken to His Majesty the King this morning to inform him of my decision. I will ask the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to set out a timetable, with nominations opening on 9 July and completed by the summer recess.

[B]

Labour is trailing anti immigration party Reform UK in public opinion polls, but Burnham says he could beat the right by returning to Labour's working class roots and avoiding the division that has marked US politics in recent years.

[G]

Everyone knows that politics isn't working.

[F]

Everyone can feel that the country isn't where it should be. Tonight could just could be the turning point.

[B]

Starmer is the sixth prime minister in the past decade to announce an early departure. China has imposed trade restrictions on dozens of US entities, including banning exports of Chinese made products with potential military applications to 10 U.S. defense firms. The inclusion of two rare earth producers, MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, also suggests China sees an advantage in limiting U.S. capabilities around materials needed for advanced electronics, defense systems and renewable energy technologies. China is also targeting drone, robotics and aerospace companies tied to the military. The move follows the Pentagon's decision earlier this month to add a number of Chinese companies to its blacklist of entities it said were linked to China's military. And in Colombia, supporters of far right populist Abelardo de la Sprea are celebrating his narrow win in the country's presidential election. The flamboyant lawyer holds US Citizenship and was backed by President Trump after promising a crackdown on cocaine gangs and drug trafficking networks. The result is expected to be challenged in the coming days, with Esprea and the far left candidate Ivan cepeda less than 1% apart in the vote share. If confirmed, it marks the seventh Latin American country in three years to have swung to the right. Coming up, the first episode of our series on potential solutions to the US Housing crisis. After the break, Luke Vargas looks at the persistent zoning tug of wars playing out coast to coast.

[H]

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[G]

California has said yes to building more homes. Several estimates put its housing shortfall at or above 2.5 million units. And state lawmakers have passed bills to help get projects approved, especially if they're near public transit. But not far from Menlo Park Station, where express trains whisk commuters to San Francisco in just 40 minutes, it's clear that the state's Yimby movement still has plenty of work to do. For years, this leafy suburb, home to Metham, has been trying to build 345 housing units for what are deemed very low income households. For a family of four. That's an annual salary of between $60,000 and $93,000 a year. And where they'd be built is over three downtown parking lots.

[C]

It's stunning, isn't it?

[G]

Imagine I met up with Leora Tanwatko Ross, the California director of Yimby Action. Menlo Park's Lot 3 is, it's sort

[C]

of a back alleyway, right? You can see those, those lines of, of trash bins, right? This kind of like the service entrance to all of these places. And it's really just ripe for new buildings and places to live. I mean if you look up, we could, we could go up. Absolutely we could.

[G]

Proposals from three developers envision replacing Lot 3 with a multi story car park with apartments at the top. But many local businesses aren't buying it.

[D]

We are very, very dependent, of course, as a grocer on parking.

[G]

Third generation grocer Richard Drager supports affordable housing at alternate sites, saying that shoppers put off by Years of construction and parking disruptions would take their business elsewhere.

[D]

What I see is that every single parking space is represents a certain percentage of your sales. When you take away 50% now try to make ends meet. If you look at this downtown and you compare this downtown with most downtowns, you don't have the Fortune 500 group of retailers. So what happens unfortunately is as these small independent businesses get pressure, who takes over that aspect of the market? It's another big chain operation.

[G]

Outside his supermarket and in shop windows around Menlo's distinctively old school downtown are signs to save downtown Menlo backing a November ballot measure aimed at stopping any repurposing of the parking lots without a public vote. Should it pass, Tenhuatko Ross predicts a lengthy fight with YIMBY groups suing if development plans are delayed again, wasting time and money as the housing shortage remains

[C]

unaddressed, housing really dies a death by a thousand cuts. If you say like, you know, this housing proposal needs to fix every problem. It needs to provide housing, but it also needs to make sure it fixes all the traffic problems in our town, then builders will just simply pull out.

[G]

Well, to help us unpack zoning's role in the US housing shortage, I'm joined now by Journal residential rental market and housing policy reporter Rebecca Pachotto. Rebecca, what is the outcome around getting housing built at the local level? Some big cities obviously have been trying to tackle their long standing barriers to new construction. Obviously California there I came across plenty of groups that have yimby in their name. It's a moniker that's kind of in vogue now. New York's mayor proudly embraces it. And yet I also heard from campaigners that there are basically more avenues than there have ever been for people to object to new housing as well.

[I]

Yeah. So lots of local jurisdictions are experimenting more with building housing, much more than they did a generation generation ago. As you saw in Menlo park, lots of these local areas are trying to figure out how to balance incentives versus regulations. For instance, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, we've seen that city successfully usher in a huge wave of new apartment construction with the passage of its Minneapolis 2040 plan. This is basically a 20 year housing plan to ease a host of different zoning restrictions, eliminate single family zoning and parking minimums, and make it easier to build near transit. We've seen similar success in New York City with the city of yes, rezoning, which is widely considered one of the most comprehensive overhauls of the city zoning program in decades. So you're seeing success especially when it comes to relaxing some of these age old zoning laws. And you're also seeing some of these experiments have unintended consequences. In Portland, Maine, developers have actually slowed down their building. And they credit that at least partly because of the city's quote, inclusionary zoning requirement. And as interest rates and construction costs rise, developers are now saying that these affordability requirements have become financially untenable.

[G]

Rebecca, It's a great example that Portland one, a reminder that unless cities are actually the ones building the housing themselves, they're reliant on developers who need to see it to be financially worth their while to be putting in proposals, just staying with the factors, maybe favoring more development. What kinds of policies are more immediately actionable if a city town is trying to get more projects built?

[I]

Yeah, I mean, one of the most common routes we've seen so far has been this approach of lighter touch density, allowing for more duplex construction or allowing for more accessory dwelling units on properties adding to the housing stock without fully transforming what a neighborhood looks like. And California has made a huge push to ease restrictions to build those ADUs. It's something that allows you to circumvent this aesthetic pushback that you might get if you're trying to build an apartment building. This lighter touch density approach works best and most effectively in places like Ouachita, Kansas, where you have large stretches of land that people are able to build on, because this allows developers to manage the increase in their construction costs, build two homes on one lot, get two streams of revenue where they would have previously only had one.

[G]

On the NIMBY side of the ledger, is it the same old arguments you're hearing against new construction, or, I don't know, is some rethinking of how things are built leading to a rethinking of lines of argumentation to try and stop those proposals?

[I]

Yeah, I mean, there are many reasons. Many of these reasons are the ones we've heard for decades. It's the aesthetic pushback, it's the traffic constraints, it's the feeling that a city doesn't have the infrastructure to support new population that housing boom might bring in. You're also seeing many developers experiment more with factory built housing because it's easier, cheaper, faster to build, and the technology has really advanced. But these are not always architectural masterpieces, these modular apartment buildings and modular homes. So you tend to see some resistance to that aesthetic disruption.

[G]

The cookie cutter blocks of new apartments.

[I]

Exactly, exactly. But at the end of the day, it does get the housing built more quickly. And I think the technology is advancing in a way to try to make them a little prettier, but it's a work in progress.

[G]

Finally, do you see a factor here on the YIMBY side, on the NIMBY side gaining in importance, likely to tip the scales in this housing battle going forward?

[I]

Yeah, I think as we head into the early voting season for the midterms, affordability is at the top of every elected official's mind. And as a result, every politician who is campaigning for office this November wants to show that they have a victory on housing. This is now a political priority for lawmakers in Washington. And driving the affordability conversation is a sense that high housing costs are now reshaping the life milestones of the average American. And so as a result, I think elected officials feel much more pressure from voters to get this house in order.

[G]

Reporter Rebecca Pichotto covers the residential rental market and housing policy for us at the Journal. Rebecca, thank you so much.

[I]

Thank you so much for having me.

[B]

Luke Vargas reporting there on rezoning efforts around the US for more on that, check out the youe Money Briefing podcast past and do tune in tomorrow where we'll be looking at how labor availability and affordability concerns are pushing a rethink of what homes look like and how they're built. If any of this is leaving you with burning questions about the current crisis in the US Housing market, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a voice memo to wnpodsj.com or leave a voicemail with your name and location at 212-416-4328. Journal Real Estate Editor Craig Carman will be answering those questions at the end of the week. And that's it for what's news for this Monday morning. Today's show was produced by Hattie Moyer. Our supervising producer is Sandra Kilhoff. And I'm Daniel Bock for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.

[H]

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