Urban planners like the idea of denser cities, including in San Diego:

With ‘Blueprint SD,’ San Diego aims for faster response to housing, climate crises

..

Problem which I’ve ranted about before: unless the transportation is tackled first, increasing housing density simply means more traffic jams.

And by “tackling” I mean mass transport.

Problem: while San Diego has a trolley system, and I use it (for instance to go to jury duty, as the courthouse is an actual stop for the train), it is woefully under installed and underfunded.

But adding new track is almost impossible for less than billions and billions of dollars.

Public transportation is considered shameful is much of the US.

By that I mean it is looked down upon, scoffed at, derided, and all around othered to the point where it is damn near un-American to take a bus.

I think San Diego is a classic case of the problem we face: we can’t afford to make the changes today for a better life 50 years from new.

Land is just too expensive to build out rail.