“The middle of nowhere? Cheap land prices?
Think again, this is a picture from Googleplex in Mountain View.” via Anthony Ling
1. This week at Market Urbansim:
Collective Action Problems Are Similar For Land Use And Schools by Michael Lewyn
…it occurred to me that there are some similarities between American school systems and American land use regulation. In both situations, localism creates gaps between what is rational for an individual suburb or neighborhood and what is rational for a region as a whole.
The Great Mind And Vision Of Jane Jacobs by Sandy Ikeda
As an economist working in the tradition of Mises, Hayek, and Kirzner, what have I learned from Jane Jacobs? In short: Densely populated settlements that embody a wide diversity of both skills and tastes are the incubators of dynamic social development and entrepreneurial discovery—Density + Diversity Development and Discovery—and that government intervention tends to undermine the free air of cities in which even ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
Kotkin And The Atlantic- Spreading ‘Localism’ Nonsense Together by Michael Lewyn
This is as true in California as it is anyplace else; when Gov. Brown tried to make it easier for developers to bypass local zoning so they can build new housing, the state legislature squashed him. Local zoning has become more restrictive over time, not less.
2. Where’s Scott?
Scott Beyer completed his San Diego stay, and is heading today into the Mexican border city of Tijuana, before moving to Los Angeles. He wrote 4 articles this week: San Antonio’s Growth Part of a Macro-Level U.S. Trend for The Bexar Witness & When Texas Stopped Looking and Feeling Like Mexico for Governing Magazine & Here’s Why Your Home Is 24% Overpriced & Philadelphia’s SEPTA Transit Workers Go On Strike…Again for Forbes.
There is an entire eco-system of private transit options, big and small, that exist in most cities, including Philly. Many of them have already released formal game plans for this strike, showing the nimbleness and innovation that, as I’ve noted before, has been a trademark of the private transit industry.
Market Urbanists in San Antonio, don’t miss Scott’s speech on Tuesday, Nov. 9th about the lengthy, soon-to-be-published economic report he wrote on the city for the San Antonio Business Journal.
3. At the Market Urbanism Facebook Group:
Roger Valdez wrote: Seattle Mayor And Council Experiment With Redlining To Stop Displacement
Sandy Ikeda discovered that all of Jane Jacobs‘ books are available on Amazon Kindle
Matt Robare wrote: Why Ballparks Can’t Save Cities
Michael Lewyn‘s review of William Fischel‘s zoning book is now online
Lyman Stone “took a deep dive into one of the key post-industrial Appalachian cities where the urban problems are quite unlike those faced in the high-rent cities”
Flavio Fiumerodo shared a provocative (in all the wrong ways) article: Urban Socialism: America’s Scheming Local Central Planning Bureaucracies
George Frantz shares some interesting information on the flood resistance of the Vietnamese city, Hoi An
via Matthew Carson: As Owings Mills Mall disappears, questions loom about what will take its place
via Corey Smith: Potential homeless solution is on display for the public in San Francisco RIGHT NOW
via Krishan Madan: They stopped building apartments; now Sacramento-area rents have spiked
via David Iach: New York firms envision ways for the city to absorb 9 million residents
Krishan Madan really “disagrees with these two articles by Charles Marohn, who is usually right about urban issues.”
via Na’im Kalantar: Could raising tolls radically improve commuting?
via Alan Durning, “could boosting density change political leanings?“
4. Elsewhere:
Pruitt-Igoe, a Symbol of Government Failure, Gets a Second Chance
Zoning Laws are Erasing the American Dream
SF‘s Mayor Ed Lee on short list for Hillary Clinton’s cabinet. Stephen’s twitter response: “Hmm, what city has the worst housing policy in the US? Let’s hire whoever their mayor is.”
Does New York need another Robert Moses?
Clintons renovated Chappaqua home without getting permits
SF cab company sues Uber for….underpricing rides?
5. Stephen Smith‘s tweet of the week:
More evidence that Piketty’s findings are all about housing: https://t.co/Sd42DGDn1E (via @MattRobare)
— Market Urbanism (@MarketUrbanism) October 12, 2016
