Housing Resources

How the US made affordable housing illegal - Vox - An explainer-style video with specific references to how Cupertino zoning policies (height restrictions, parking and lot-size requirements) discourage opportunities for affordable housing development.

Silicon Valley at Home: Resource Map: Cupertino - Summary of data and resources related to Housing in Cupertino, sources listed, compiled by Silicon Valley at Home.

Housing Needs Data Report: Cupertino - by ABAG, MTC staff and the Baird & Driskell Community Planning consultant group, this 2021 report provides a relevant, informed, and neutral assessment of data related to housing and demographics in Cupertino. Completed on April 2, 2021.

California’s Housing Future: Challenges and Opportunities - by HCD, this state agency has compiled various data points, charts, and research to summarize the statewide housing crisis. Published February, 2018.

Vital Signs - this data visualization tool and repository contains valuable, up-to-date information on topics like transportation, the environment, and housing across the Bay Area. Data continuously updated.

Decoding Zoning: Examples of Zoning Reform with timelines for action.

The Opportunity Atlas - A data visualization tool to illustrate how where you grow up can influence economic opportunities and outcomes.

Roots, Race, & Place by The Othering & Belonging Institute, 2019.

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

Neighborhood Defenders: Participatory Politics and America’s Housing Crisis by Katherine Levine Einstein, David Glick, Maxwell Palmer.

• Studies the participants of local planning meetings, identifies and investigates an archetype of common participants (“Neighborhood Defenders”) impacts on the housing development process, as well as the impact from the absence of more demographically-representative participants in these meetings.

• The same authors have established a site with resources and summarized findings as well (Website: Housing Politics Lab).

“Zoom Does Not Reduce Unequal Participation: Evidence from Public Meeting Minutes” by Katherine Levine Einstein, David Glick, Luisa Godinez Puig, Maxwell Palmer. Further work demonstrating trends in unequal, non-representative participation in community meetings despite a shift to non in-person methods.

Commentators & Organizations

News Articles

CalMatters Explainer on California High Housing Costs - CalMatters staff posted this comprehensive yet succinct summary on the various causes behind high housing prices across the state. Updated on April 16, 2021.

Vox - Federal Policy Shift Aimed at the Housing Crisis - Published June, 17, 2021.

Vox - Housing Discrimination Watchdog Group Sues Realtors, Landlords - Published June 30, 2021.

KQED - “California Cities Rethink the Single-Family Neighborhood” by Erin Baldassari. Published February 16, 2021.

New York Times - “How Blue Cities Became So Outrageously Unaffordable” podcast by Ezra Klein, with Jerusalem Demsas. Published July 23, 2021.

Vox - How the US made affordable homes illegal by Jerusalem Demsas and Ranjani Chakraborty. Published August 17, 2021.

Local News

“Cupertino Electeds Adopt New Development Rules Despite Warnings From Housing Officials” reported by Katie Lauer, sanjoseinside, (2021). 

“Op-Ed: Vallco Transformation Finally Moves Forward—Now It’s Time That Cupertino Does, Too” by J.R. Fruen and Neil Park-McClintick, sanjoseinside (2020).

“In Apple’s hometown of Cupertino, a debate over the fate of an old mall epitomizes Silicon Valley’s class divide”, by Shirin Ghaffary for recode, (2018).

Lawsuit over a maximum density restriction in Cupertino’s general plan settled by a narrow 3-2 vote to amend the plan. Two council members vote against the amendment. SFGate Article, (1995)