LETTER: Las Vegas needs to build up, not out

Housing in Las Vegas is a primary issue for livability. There are too few units for too many people. Rent is too high. It’s gotten worse in the past few years. These facts are not in dispute.

Far too often, we hear state and local politicians calling for the federal government to release federal lands surrounding the basin so we can develop farther from the city center. Is that because this solution allows us to shift blame for the crisis to far-away federal bureaucrats rather than directly addressing the problems we have?

Building farther out from the city center and the Strip puts residents farther away from their jobs, puts more cars on our roads for more miles every day and perpetuates the isolation of lower- and middle-income communities in the valley. What good does lower rent do you if the car or cars you need to live farther from work, school, etc., get equivalently more expensive for those who can’t afford housing? It’s not like there are efficient options for public transit coming to the valley anytime soon. All residents of the valley will pay — and are already paying — the price for continuing to sprawl ever outward.

While it’s not the easiest solution, as a community, we need to focus on building denser housing, closer to job centers and creating multiple pockets for mixed-use, urban-style living, which reduce the need for individual automobiles, long commutes and isolated neighborhoods. We must build upward and place more units on smaller footprints. This is a solution that is tried and true all over the world. Of course we can do it in Las Vegas.

If we commit to these types of solutions, it will pay huge dividends. Our children (and their children), will thank us for building a more livable Las Vegas.