The debate you've been waiting for! Randal O'Toole, Matt Yglesias, Ryan Avent, and Adam Gordon participated yesterday in a discussion at the Cato Institute moderated by Diana Lind from Next American City/Forefront. (How had this never happened before??)Randal O'Toole did not disappoint, arriving … [Read more...]
Height Limit Links
1) Yesterday, two pieces on Congressman Darrell Issa's proposal to relax the federal limits on DC's buildings heights got a lot of coverage. At City Block, Alex Block makes the key point that outside of downtown, DC's density is limited by zoning, rather than the height limit. He supports allowing … [Read more...]
New York’s Funny Definition Of ‘Moderate- and Middle-Income’ Housing
Pretty interesting article in the NYT today about the Gotham West development that recently broke ground on Manhattan‘s far west side. But I think the part about affordable housing could use some context: But the bulk of the project will be affordable units, 682 of them, or more than half the … [Read more...]
The North Korean Origins Of Renzo Piano’s Shard Tower
Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks London’s Shard skyscraper (shameless article-I-wrote-about-London-skyscrapers plug) looks like Pyongyang’s Ryugyong Hotel. Koryo Tours, the only tour group that offers westerners package to North Korea, plays up the similarities on its … [Read more...]
Italy’s Austerity Plan Spurs Transport Deregulation
There’s been a lot of handwringing by American lefties over the austerity plans that Germany is asking indebted eurozone governments like Italy and Greece to implement in exchange for bailouts, but many aspects of the plans – especially labor market deregulation – are long overdue no matter … [Read more...]
Cutting Costs On California HSR Doesn’t Have To Add Delays
Scrapping viaducts like this would make California HSR cheaper, faster to build, and easier to maintain, without a loss in quality The recent peer review report recommending that California delay construction on the first segment of its high-speed rail project has caused a bit of consternation in … [Read more...]
In Defense Of Land Reclamation: It Ain’t All Palm Islands!
Earlier today Urban Photo Blog tweeted earlier today a link to an article about Hong Kong’s latest land reclamation project, with an obviously sarcastic “because it worked so well in Dubai!” tacked on at the end. Not to pick on Urban Photo Blog – actually, his Twitter account is … [Read more...]
Freakonomics Quorum: Can Amtrak Ever Be Profitable?
Are America's private railroading glory days gone forever? The folks at Freakonomics have asked me to contribute to a “Quorum” on Amtrak and whether it can ever be profitable. Maybe I was a sucker, but it looks like I hewed closer to the question that some of the … [Read more...]