Dan Bertolet on Citytank.org offers 13 koans on which to meditate, and ultimately concludes that "If we hope to succeed in giving lower-income households -- especially families with children -- the opportunity to enjoy all the benefits of living in a prosperous city, then we must start to take on systemic income inequality, and push for the expansion of socialized investments that offset the burden of expensive housing. Other conclusions:

* Density is a win-win both for housing affordability and sustainability overall

* Far greater government subsidy for the production of low-income housing is necessary

* We must find sources of subsidy that place the burden of providing affordable housing on society as a whole

* Efforts should be made to reduce financial, regulatory, and political encumbrances to the production of high-density multifamily housing

* Targeted incentives should preferentially promote the development of multifamily housing -- both market rate and subsidized -— in areas with access to high-quality transit

* Potential displacement should be addressed with targeted subsidies for housing and other social programs.

Read it at Citytank.org.