The Editor,
Re: "Keep building, we need it," Letters, Mar 1.
My question is who are the "we" who need more building? The public image of Richmond - even now - is of a congested town over-crowded with high rise behemoths.
Mr. Sakai's psuedo theory is that building less housing will increase housing prices. This is an over-simplification and misleading because major price rises are caused by natural inflation. He also argues that if you complain about a lack of green space, waterfront parks are all within close range.
When his children and grandchildren are priced out of Richmond to the boondocks, one wonders if Cloverdale, Chilliwack or even Hope will be considered "within close range?"
New Canadians like me live in Richmond because it ensures quality of life. Not many Richmondites would enjoy living in Sakai's proposed concrete jungle as per his the-denser-the-better paradox. There's this little thing called "marginal effect" for supply and demand in economics. Richmond is a world-class, livable city with satisfactory community services, walkability, transit service and more restaurants than any other Lower Mainland city. There are enough new developments being built in Richmond to accommodate thousands more people and more pressure on our finite resources, not least the traffic congestion.
City councils are elected to consider the big picture over the long term. But what to consider in Richmond is the question.
Xu Ping Lee Richmond
