I upvoted you, although I disagree with you. You made an argument, deepened the discussion and offered some sources -- it's more than most people do.
Regarding the second site that you linked, and the PHIMBY idea in general -- if it's summed up by "housing is a human right", then there is a certain weakness built into it from the start. If you do not have a house, can you sue someone? Can you sue the government, for example? That is an important part of what a right is -- it provides a "cause of action", a basis for suit, when it is abridged. If it doesn't provide that, then it is not a right.
Freedom of movement within the United States, guaranteed by the Privileges & Immunities Clause of the Constitution, is a right. When someone writes something like "by overbuilding housing for the wealthy, Seattle has achieved some short-term improvement in affordability for the middle class, at the expense of substantial displacement and continued upward pressure on the most vulnerable.", they seem to be operating from a frame where it is the government's responsibility to provide housing, but it's not clear where the government gets that charter. Not every nice or good thing needs to be effected by government agency. However, respecting the right of people to move in -- to buy or rent property on the same terms as non-residents -- would seem to be completely in line with a broad commitment to the equality of all American citizens, regardless of their place of birth, before the law everywhere in the country.
The essential view of PHIMBYs is that government should invest in housing, which is the mechanism by which the postwar generation achieved housing security (HUD had a huge budget).
Thanks for the upvote. Allow me to critique your argument. You focus solely on interpreting the term “right” and suggest that it is beyond the charter of government to provide housing, which is just completely and utterly ahistorical.
Regarding the second site that you linked, and the PHIMBY idea in general -- if it's summed up by "housing is a human right", then there is a certain weakness built into it from the start. If you do not have a house, can you sue someone? Can you sue the government, for example? That is an important part of what a right is -- it provides a "cause of action", a basis for suit, when it is abridged. If it doesn't provide that, then it is not a right.
Freedom of movement within the United States, guaranteed by the Privileges & Immunities Clause of the Constitution, is a right. When someone writes something like "by overbuilding housing for the wealthy, Seattle has achieved some short-term improvement in affordability for the middle class, at the expense of substantial displacement and continued upward pressure on the most vulnerable.", they seem to be operating from a frame where it is the government's responsibility to provide housing, but it's not clear where the government gets that charter. Not every nice or good thing needs to be effected by government agency. However, respecting the right of people to move in -- to buy or rent property on the same terms as non-residents -- would seem to be completely in line with a broad commitment to the equality of all American citizens, regardless of their place of birth, before the law everywhere in the country.