As a proud progressive, I support multiculturalism, religious tolerance, the rights of minorities and the freedom of movement for all peoples.
But I’ve been dispirited and disturbed to hear a growing sentiment: “We can’t accept more migrants. We can’t even take care of our own.” Sadly, I no longer hear this only from the nationalistic right.
Indeed, this rhetoric is being fueled, in part, by policy choices that are most problematic in the bluest, most progressive places. And it is forcing unnecessary conflict between values that we strive for and our individual senses of security. It’s sadly true that migrants have lately been forced into competition with existing low-income Coloradans for precious housing. It’s a matter of brutal arithmetic: There simply isn’t enough affordable housing for both groups of people available right now. Because so much international immigration is driven by climate change, we can expect this trend to continue, even accelerate.
This dilemma isn’t limited to international immigrants, but also includes vulnerable Americans outside of Colorado. Red states around the country are restricting rights for racial minorities, LGBTQ+ people and women in increasingly dangerous ways. These horrific developments are leading many Americans to seek refuge in more socially progressive states, and Colorado is a major draw due to its central location close to conservative areas.
However, Colorado typically has much more expensive housing than the places these people are fleeing, because Colorado already has a shortage of over 100,000 homes. This makes it much harder to obtain refuge in Colorado and in other safe areas like the urban Northeast and the West Coast, which have similar issues with affordability.
This problem of restricted housing stock also increases the likelihood of Donald Trump winning in 2024. Inflation is on many voters’ minds, and housing in blue areas has conspicuously become less affordable. It’s harder to convince swing-state voters to vote for Democrats when places like California have an affordability crisis so bad that they lose hundreds of thousands of residents every year, and when places like Colorado are increasingly on the same path. Unfortunately, blue states are just as bad as red states when it comes to building enough housing.
California invented single-family zoning in the early 20th century as a way to circumvent the 14th Amendment and segregate cities by race. These misguided laws also led to some of the worst air quality in the world from car-dependent sprawl, some of the most expensive housing in the world from housing scarcity, and a homelessness problem that isn’t just a moral stain but also seriously diminishes quality of life. Yet, Colorado copies California’s model for the vast majority of its residential areas. This makes no sense.
Legalizing more housing helps accessibility in two ways: First, it provides more directly affordable housing, because in Denver, every new development of a certain size is required to either contain some subsidized homes or pay into a city fund for subsidized homes. Second, building more market-rate homes reduces displacement pressures since the new supply lowers the cost of homes regionally. This supply effect is so well-documented that opposing it has now become a form of science denial — social-science denial, to be exact. (It’s also a straightforward case of climate denial in and of itself, which in turn worsens international and domestic refugee crises.)
It’s no accident that the blue city that has done probably the most to address its housing inflation problem is Minneapolis, which legalized so many new homes that average real rents there dropped by roughly 20%. This means that blue Minnesota can more easily live up to its progressive values without starting ugly fights about which vulnerable people don’t deserve to live there.
Colorado has a chance to start undoing these injustices toward migrants, red-state refugees and the planet. Legislation is currently being considered at the state Capitol that would restore homeowners’ rights to build more affordable housing types on their properties, increasing the availability of homes and making our cities more sustainable. Sadly, some Colorado Democrats are unwilling to entertain a lot more housing in their districts. If they claim to be progressive, do not be fooled: They are on the same side as Donald Trump, and oppose every major national Democratic and progressive politician, including Presidents Biden and Obama, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The moral belief that it is an abomination for a city to fail to offer hospitality to vulnerable strangers is thousands of years old. Colorado must avoid fossilizing into a place that exhibits a brittle disregard for those in need of refuge, acceptance and tolerance. Luckily, there is still an opportunity to do so, but only if we act quickly and thoroughly to build enough homes — both for ourselves and for the frightened, weary strangers at our gates.
Robert Greer is a tenant attorney, environmental advocate, and lead with YIMBYDenver.org who lives in central Denver with his wife and two young children. He’s on Threads at @robertallengreer.
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