(mountains in Boulder, home of the 2016 YIMBY conference / wikipedia)
1. This week at Market Urbanism:
Carolyn Zelikow of Aspen Institute wrote her first Market Urbanism article, Richard Florida Should Replace The Term ‘Creative Class’ With ‘Country Club’
So I was shocked that reading Florida’s book not only gave me zero ideas for my own community, but actually made me question whether the “Creative Class” was something that cities should try to foster, period. As far as I can tell, the Creative Class is just a new name for rich people.
Howard Ahmanson also contributed his first post, No, ‘New Urbanism’ And ‘Smart Growth’ Are Not The Same
It is a fact that perhaps 90% of New Urbanists are also Smart Growthers, though many of the leaders of the New Urbanist movement are not; that still does not mean the two philosophies are identical.
Michael Lewyn followed up on his article on “school-based sprawl”: “Public Schools Only” Vouchers and Sprawl
This plan might discourage sprawl by making prestigious suburban schools available to urban parents. And if both students from affluent families and students from poor families entered these schools, the class differences between urban and suburban schools might be erased in the long run.
2. Where’s Scott?
Scott Beyer spent his second week in San Antonio. He wrote two Forbes articles this week–about a Private Proposal To Solve Chicago’s Freight Rail Bottleneck, and whether San Francisco’s Solar Panel Mandate Will Increase Housing Costs:
The goals driving the solar panel mandate sound wonderful, but how will they influence San Francisco’s already-high housing prices?…As I learned through recent research and interviews, it doesn’t appear that San Francisco’s officials are too curious about the answer.
Scott also published on his blog a radio interview about his visit to Havana, Cuba (starts at the 20:31 mark)
3. At the Market Urbanism Facebook Group:
Bjorn Swenson “dropped a bombshell” on his hometown’s Facebook group
Brent Gaisford re-opens the discussion on the loss in GDP from high urban housing prices and displacement for a post he’s writing
Todd Litman shared an article from Wired: Widening Highways Never Fixes Traffic. But Darnit, It Did in Texas
Ahmed Shaker has a question about skyscrapers and affordability, and stirs a good discussion.
Michael Farren shares info on the new nationwide transit database from CNT
4. Elsewhere:
bizjournals: Younger Bay Area residents are more supportive of new housing, signaling generational divide
Scott Sumner shared some photos at Econlog: Market Urbanism in Houston
Citylab mentions Carlos Fausto Miranda, previously profiled in MU’s Progressive Developer series, in a piece on the revival of Miami’s Little Havana
Check out this satirical Richard Florida twitter feed, flatteringly named ‘Dick Florida’
5. Stephen Smith‘s Tweet of the Week: (shout in the comments if you are thinking of going)
Just bought my tickets for YIMBY 2016 in Boulder! Anyone else coming? https://t.co/1uzbZpDq0A
— Market Urbanism (@MarketUrbanism) April 25, 2016
