Long before the wildfires that burned their residential and smaller commercial neighborhoods down, residents of Altadena and Pacific Palisades were dealing with questions of denser future housing in somewhat different ways.

If the charming cottages and mansions of the Palisades helped create what some residents call a Mayberry-like atmosphere, it was a Mayberry with a view of the Pacific Ocean in the city of Los Angeles, and thus some of the most expensive homes in the world. There were townhomes and a few other multi-family complexes as well, but mostly idyllic single-family houses. There was not exactly a strong local push for more density.

Altadena, traditionally a quiet unincorporated town of working-class and middle-class families, had in the last decade seen a large influx of creative-class Angelenos who sold their tiny places in Silver Lake and Echo Park for the larger lots and historic houses in especially the more affordable western part of the town. Many former homeowners in mostly Black neighborhoods there took advantage of attractive offers and moved east in the San Gabriel Valley and to the Inland Empire. While there are apartment complexes in Altadena, there also had been a local backlash to a recent county upzoning plan that will allow more density.

Now, after two unprecedented natural disasters, uncertainty reigns about what the rebuilt communities will look like. Home insurance policies often proscribe a recreation of what was formerly on the lot. But many people were underinsured, or, especially in Altadena, not insured at all.

There is a natural fear about “overseas investors” coming in with cash offers and quickie development plans. Both Altadenans and Palisadians worry about more gated communities in their future. But all Southern Californians know there was a housing crisis here even before the fires. It impacts all of us. All of us with children fear our kids could never be able to afford to live here. Many of us have had to move as a result of it.

Cool heads are needed.

There’s a right way to rebuild that retains the old feel and still contains many more multi-family options. We need more housing throughout Southern California and especially in less disaster-prone areas. Let’s get creative and make a better future atop the ashes.