A dark side to the California dream: How the state Constitution makes affordable housing hard to build
βIn 1950, Californians voted to put a provision in the state Constitution that makes it harder for poor people to find a place to live. Article 34, which remains in effect, requires voter approval before public housing is built in a community. At the time it passed, the real estate industry argued taxpayers should have a right to vote on low-income housing projects because they were publicly funded infrastructure similar to schools or roads. The campaign also appealed to racist fears about integrating neighborhoods and featured heated rhetoric about the need to combat socialism.β