By Michael Lieb | Arizona Republic
The conversation is happening on sidelines at soccer games. In classrooms at Arizona State University. Among friends and relatives who are increasingly desperate to find affordable places to live. Between parents and their millennial children who have good paying jobs. In heartbreaking stories of evictions and displacements featured in this very newspaper.
Arizona’s housing shortage and unprecedented cost increases have collided to hurt many Arizona residents of all ages and incomes. COVID-19 turned the faucet on net population growth in Maricopa County with 86,820 new residents, more than any other U.S. county. It’s clear the solution lies at the local level with swift approval of more quality housing across the price spectrum and throughout the Valley.
It’s really that simple.