Taking a look back at these areas and photographing them today really opened my eyes to how many developments there have been in the past year alone. I was personally shocked during my research of the statistics because I knew there was a huge housing crisis, but I had no idea just how expensive housing in California was actually becoming. Seeing all the new developments and comparing it to the landscape in previous years, especially before the recession was fascinating to learn just how much the recession had actually affected the amount of developments starting and later, becoming abandoned till today. I wanted to bring attention to the fact that although we are building so many new homes in the area, it still does not provide a solution for the fact that most of the people living in the area cannot actually afford to own a home. From experience of living in Hemet for over 21 years, most of the people I’ve met living in Hemet who are paying for a home actually work outside of Hemet; Even I am an example of this, having to travel nearly 50 miles every day to get to San Marcos to go to school. It was an eye opening experience for myself personally and I believe it is important to highlight how we emphasize what is marketable in society versus what we can actually do to help others.
