Building communities where people can stay and thrive
Let's build a better Santa Clara County for all of us
About
Let’s Talk Housing is a community-centered, multi-jurisdiction engagement and education platform to help understand and prevent displacement in San Clara County.
Led by the Cities, Towns, and County of Santa Clara, we’re building tools and resources that support local communities affected by and working to prevent displacement.
Rooted to our community, growing a place for everyone.
Coming Soon: More resources and ways to get involved!
What do we mean by "displacement"?
Displacement is when you are forced to move for reasons outside of your control.
For example:
- Your rent has gone up to a price you can’t afford.
- You have a crisis (like a job loss or a medical emergency) and can’t make your rent or mortgage payment.
- The place you live is being torn down.
Displacement is involuntary in the sense that it is caused by things outside your control. Displacement can happen because a building is demolished to make way for new development or due to eviction of individual households, but can also happen to an entire community over time, with multiple households over a period of months or years due to rising housing costs. This impacts not only the people who are displaced, but also their families and neighbors, the larger community, and the city, county and region as a whole.
Watch this five minute video from The Urban Displacement Project to learn more about displacement and how it is affecting communities across the US.
Forms of displacement
Direct Displacement
Direct displacement is when a person or family is forced to move because they are evicted or their building is torn down, often to make way for new and more expensive development.
It can also happen because their rent was increased and they can no longer afford the payment (sometimes done on purpose to force an eviction and make way for a higher income renter). Regardless of the reason, the outcome is the same: people who lived in these homes and neighborhoods are forced to move and live somewhere else. This is the most visible and immediate form of displacement, and can be extremely disruptive to the lives of those who are impacted. Cities can help reduce direct displacement by preventing evictions, but many tenants often leave before they are evicted.
For more detailed information on direct displacement factors in the Bay Area see the BAHFA Anti-Eviction Study.
Indirect Displacement
Indirect or “soft” displacement is when a person or family has to leave because they can no longer afford to stay in their home.
This is the most common form of displacement in many Bay Area communities due to rising rents.
Indirect or “Soft” Displacement is when a person or family can no longer afford to stay in their homes because of increasing rents. When rents get too high, particularly for low-income people, they feel pressure to move to a neighborhood or city that they can afford. This displacement is harder to see because there is no formal eviction. It happens more slowly over time as individual households move away, separating them from their social networks, jobs, schools, places of worship, and other important assets. People with limited resources that can’t find housing may be forced to double up with friends and family, or in some cases live on the street or in their car.
Point in Time Survey
San Clara County, 2024
85% of unhoused people were residents of the County when they lost their home
46% of unhoused people were experiencing homelessness for the first time
24% of unhoused people said losing their home was because they lost their job
54% of unhoused people were County residents for 10+ years
Cultural Displacement
Cultural displacement refers to the loss of neighborhood character and cultural resources that residents rely on.
Both direct and indirect displacement can lead to cultural displacement. Cultural Displacement is when new development and new residents change the character of the area. This displacement often happens slowly over time as older businesses close or move away, religious and cultural institutions lose their membership, and public spaces are reoriented to new users and activities. New investment in these neighborhoods may result in higher rents and cost of living as new businesses cater to wealthier residents. For non-English speakers and immigrant communities, losing cultural resources, neighbors and support systems can be particularly hard. Lower income residents may have already lost community members to direct displacement, and as the cost of living continues to rise they may look to move to a more affordable or welcoming place.
What About Gentrification?
Gentrification is another word for cultural displacement. Many people are familiar with the term gentrification, and some have experienced it.
It is used to describe people’s experience of new residents moving in, of rents and other costs rising, and new investment in their neighborhood for people other than themselves. It often leads to a sense of anger or resentment.
Watch this video from the Urban Displacement Project on what happens when new housing is constructed in a neighborhood. You can share it with your community to educate your neighbors and start a conversation about displacement and gentrification.
- Are these issues and trends you are seeing in your community?
- What types of displacement are you seeing and how is it impacting you, your community, local businesses, and those who had to move away?
What impact does displacement have?
Losing people who have been a part of our community impacts us all. Without enough safe, healthy, and affordable housing for people of all incomes, we lose our support systems and economic vitality.
People who are displaced:
- Often struggle to find another affordable home (plus it can be expensive to move)
- Often face longer commutes (added cost and time)
- May lose access to jobs, schools, social support networks, and more
- If they can’t find housing, they may move in with family or lose of housing all together
- Can experience significant impacts to their economic, social, physical and mental health
Remaining family, friends, and neighbors:
- May lose social and support networks or struggle to help friends or family find new homes
- May worry about being the next to go or feel a sense of guilt for being able to remain
- Often feel a sense of loss, sadness, and disconnection from their community
The larger community:
- May lose affordable shopping, food, and services
- Often experiences a sense of lost community or a breakdown of social and support networks
- May feel a loss of cultural and economic diversity
- May see a loss of school-age children, impacting classroom wellness and school budgets
Local businesses and economy:
- Lose customers
- Lose employees, or have a hard time finding employees, especially for manual labor and service jobs
- For some, may feel pressure to close or relocate
How can we prevent displacement?
“The Three Ps”: Protection, Preservation, and Production
Protection: Keeping Tenants Housed
Support people to stay in their homes and help our neighbors stay in our communities.
- Protect tenants from illegal and unjust evictions, discrimination, and poor housing conditions.
- Help tenants that lose their homes find affordable housing in their communities.
Preservation: Keeping Housing Affordable
Keep existing housing affordable, which is usually easier and more cost-effective than building new housing.
- Keep existing deed-restricted housing affordable in perpetuity.
- Acquire and preserve naturally-occurring affordable housing as deed-restricted housing.
Production: Creating More Housing for All
Reduce barriers to building housing and support more affordable housing production.
- Increase supply to help slow down rising housing costs (lack of affordable housing is the biggest reason for displacement).
- Provide more housing choices for people within their communities.
Get Involved
We want to hear from you!
We welcome your thoughts on housing, displacement, and our community. Stay tuned for opportunities to give input and review our work and subscribe to email updates to hear about new resources as they’re posted.
Coming Soon:
- Countywide Housing and Displacement Survey
- Community Focus Groups
