Equity in the Capital: Reporters Chris Nichols and Ben van der Meer on creative solutions to the housing crisis

By Nick Brunner | Solving Sacramento Chris Nichols is the homelessness and housing affordability reporter for CapRadio. (Photo courtesy of Chris Nichols) The issues of lack of housing affordability and availability are likely to hover around Sacramento for some time, but there’s no shortage of ideas around how to tackle those issues. It’s an election year and while Super Tuesday may be over, we’re likely to hear lawmakers and candidates beating the drum around the topic all year.& Advocacy groups, companies and nonprofit agencies all have their stakes in this too, and there’s a bevy of information to collect and analyze. This week, our talk is between two dedicated journalists — Ben van der Meer of Sacramento Business Journal and Chris Nichols of CapRadio — who regularly cover this multifaceted issue.  Van der Meer: There’s lots of discussion about the policy behind trying to create more affordable housing and what seems to be most effective. What seems to come up over and over again … say you’re building a 50-unit project, and the per-unit cost will be half a million dollars, in some cases. People say, oh, my god, that’s so expensive. How can anyone rationalize that? It comes down...