Mobility: Population Density in Growth Areas

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Why is this a Climate Smart indicator?

One of our Bold Goals is to develop 40,000 dwelling units in urban villages and focused growth areas by 2030.
Homes in denser neighborhoods tend to use less energy and water.
New homes in urban villages and growth areas will be located near transit and neighborhood amenities, making it easier for people to get around without driving. This would help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. It would also reduce traffic, air and stormwater pollution and crashes.

What is the City doing to make progress on this indicator?

Completed

Downtown West Mixed-Use Plan (approved 5/25/21)
Multiple Urban Village Plans
Parking and Transportation Demand Management Ordinance update to eliminate parking minimums, making it easier for developers to build new housing (adopted 12/6/22, effective 4/10/23)

In Progress/Ongoing

Capitol Caltrain Station Area Plan
Implement the Envision San José 2040 General Plan and urban village plans
Facilitate the development of Downtown West, a massive new mixed-use corporate campus within the Diridon Station Area

Evaluating

Consider increasing maximum acceptable densities so that land resources are not locked into low-density patterns of development.

About the data

Sources

Data on number of housing units in Urban Villages and Growth Areas, and the year that each unit was built, are from the City of San José’s Housing Site Explorer. These data come from the Santa Clara County Tax Assessor’s Office. Population density in Urban Villages and Growth Areas in each year was estimated by multiplying the number of housing units existing in Urban Villages and Growth Areas in that year by the average household size in San José in that year from the California Department of Finance’s Demographics Unit (Table E-5), and dividing by the total area of Urban Villages and Growth Areas within the city boundary (30.38 square miles).

Limitations

The County Tax Assessor dataset is missing some needed data for a small percentage of properties. These properties were excluded.

We do not have data on average household size specifically in San José’s Urban Villages and Growth Areas.

Last updated

August 2023