Where should Mid-City’s next 30 years put additional housing growth?

City of San Diego, San Diego County, California Housing Transportation

San Diego has released the first draft of its first comprehensive Mid-City Communities Plan update in about 25 years. The plan covers City Heights, Eastern Area, Kensington-Talmadge and Normal Heights and is intended to guide roughly 30 years of land use, housing, mobility, parks, infrastructure, design and climate policy. City planners specifically identify opportunities for new homes and mixed-use development and emphasize housing in commercial, residential and transit-connected areas. Public feedback on the draft remains open through October 2 before another draft is prepared. The consequential question is not simply whether Mid-City grows, but where added housing should be concentrated and what neighborhood or infrastructure conditions should accompany it. Mid-City needs more homes, but zoning capacity works best when streets, transit, parks and neighborhood design can support the people who actually arrive. Where density goes matters as much as the raw number.

Overall results

1

67% support · excluded by 2%

7

Compact mixed-use growth can add homes while supporting transit and reducing pressure to expand outward. Strong tree, stormwater and public-space standards should arrive with the added capacity.

7

Housing growth produces better transportation outcomes when residents can reach frequent transit, shops and services without adding the same amount of driving. Corridor growth also makes infrastructure investments more efficient.

2

54% support · excluded by 6%

7

Restricting new homes to a few corridors can push growth into the same neighborhoods repeatedly. More broadly shared capacity distributes the responsibility for housing across Mid-City.

7

A citywide housing shortage cannot be solved by protecting most land from change. Broad capacity creates more sites, more competition among developers and more chances for smaller projects to pencil out.

3

41% support · excluded by 4%

7

Mid-City can add meaningful housing without rewriting every residential block. Start with underused commercial parcels and major roads where change is less disruptive.

7

A 30-year plan should not assume every theoretical unit will arrive with matching public facilities. More targeted zoning gives the city time to test growth and infrastructure together.

4

38% support · excluded by 6%

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