What??? I'm from Cupertino. Haven't been back in ages but I had no idea this was going on. Do you have a source? not that I don't believe you, but I would be interested in learning more.
Right now Vallco mall has been torn down and the city is trying its best to stop an affordable housing development there.
>also set strict requirements for younger people who lived there: if your income exceeded a certain threshold, you would be evicted. If you refused, you were charged rent – at potentially up to twice the market rate, depending on your income...
Part of problem in US:
>Cupertino residents are ... incredibly dedicated to not letting anyone new move in...
Sounds like HNUser "npunt" was correct in the assertion that the same thing seems to be going down in both places, and for similar reasons. Difference being that the Japanese are open to using the law in a more stringent manner to keep younger people out.
As a result, housing in Tokyo is a lot cheaper than you'd expect it to be. Still, the issues with public housing aren't surprising. I'm not sure you can get evicted from Section 8 apartments in the US for making more money, but it wouldn't surprise me.
It's not very appealing for Americans because the work culture is pretty bad and pay is low, so you can't get out of student debt, but I met a lot of Asian immigrants last time I was there.