Urban Design Reform: Housing the Next 1 Million in San Diego

The Housing the Next 1 Million project challenged designers and community stakeholders to collaborate on ideas addressing the San Diego Association of Governments’ forecast of an additional one million residents by 2050. The initiative began in May 2017 with preliminary monthly meetings, culminating in a public discourse event at the end of the year. A central question emerged: could current zoning regulations realistically accommodate the city’s own housing projections?

Andre Gomez, founder of Andre Architecture, was compelled to answer the call. His proposal addressed not only the shortcomings of zoning and the lack of density in transit-oriented neighborhoods, but also broader issues of walkability and urban connectivity—particularly San Diego’s reliance on vehicles, highways, and parking. His focus centered on the Morena Corridor, a narrow neighborhood fronting Mission Bay and severed by a ten-lane interstate. Conceptually, the corridor and surrounding bay area function as an in-between zone: an isolated, passive landscape defined by waterfront parking and roadway buffers for major highways and bridges. This condition is emblematic not only of San Diego, but of the national landscape at large. Car-centric infrastructure has reached its expiration, limiting our cities’ ability to house people without compromising natural landscapes or reinforcing socioeconomic divides.

The Morena Corridor is already claimed for transportation, and the planned extension of the light-rail Blue Line would further reinforce this role. Yet how could such a major public investment not be paired with increased housing density—and, more importantly, with a reconnection to Mission Bay? Until access across the Morena Corridor was addressed, additional housing made little sense. The area could only succeed without reliance on vehicle parking, functioning instead as a walkable district with direct and effortless access to one of San Diego’s most valuable natural resources.

The design team, guided by Andre’s uncompromising prioritization of people, reached a clear consensus: the I-5 Interstate must be lowered to allow for at-grade connections between the neighborhood and the bay. This intervention could be paired with a continuous boardwalk experience, generating sufficient pedestrian activity to support up to four times the existing density by eliminating lot-line setbacks. This approach offered a meaningful compromise with the community. The greatest concern surrounding development was increased building height; by improving the pedestrian experience, height could be traded for wider, more substantial buildings. Contrary to popular belief: vehicles—not buildings—are typically responsible for the most space-intensive use of land. Only through a robust pedestrian network could parking be eliminated, allowing buildings to occupy the full lot area without increasing height.

The aptly named Bridge the Bay proposal was met with both enthusiasm and criticism. Andre remains steadfast in his belief that vehicle-centric connectivity—particularly highways—continues to hold our society back. Without a bold reimagining of pedestrian infrastructure and walkability, we remain captive to our own barriers of impedance. What does it say about a society that remains disconnected from its most precious natural resources? What is the cost of communities divided by transportation bias and physical separation? And how long can the United States delay meaningful climate action while maintaining its dependence on fossil fuels? We can wait to react—or we can redesign and empower our future.