1. The NYT utterly humiliates itself with a story on how difficult it is for a kid straight outta college from "a prominent Portuguese banking family" to rent a $2,500/mo. studio in a Chelsea coop for less than 12 months. Sounds like the perfect posterchild for Sheldon Silver's rent control … [Read more...]
Midnight link list
1. "Gen Y/Millennials" want density. Ha! Sucks for them.2. Mini-bleg: Does anyone know what "building regulations" are preventing this proposed Jackson Heights building from having windows on one side?3. Southwest DC, before and after highways/urban renewal, in pictures.4. Overplanning … [Read more...]
Hump day list
Because for the first time since May, I have a hump day. Which is why all you get is a list.1. Traditionally, the NYC-dominated New York State Assembly's whacky rent control impulses have been tempered by the suburban/upstate-dominated Senate, but the NYT says that they may have struck a deal, … [Read more...]
Newsflash: there’s no supply and demand in a centrally-planned market
The NYT has an absolutely boneheaded article about the shortage of taxicabs in Manhattan during the evening rush-hour. They blame rising Manhattan rents and cabbies' schedules, but the statists at the New York Times don't see the obvious glaring issue: controlled prices and a taxicab cartel! They … [Read more...]
Friday link list
Expect a lot more of these...1. Beijing tries to relieve congestion by...building a quarter-million parking new spaces and 125 miles of new downtown streets?! But don't worry – bike sharing!2. Seattle inches closer to a Shoupian on-street parking policy, and Austin ponders charging for … [Read more...]
Preservationists hyperventilate over extra story in Chelsea
About a month ago I put a post where I discussed how overzealous historical preservationists were halting necessary incremental development, and in the long run guaranteeing that the buildings will have to be completely razed if cities are ever to regain a modicum of economic rationality. I … [Read more...]
Elevated rail vs. road, and…monorails?
I started reading Fogelson's Downtown with the intention of learning more about elevated trains, and though I've been slightly disappointed in that regard (more to come on that after I finish and attempt a more comprehensive review), he does include a lot of interesting history. I'm posting this … [Read more...]
New Years link list
Behold, your first link list of 2011!1. The automobile may officially in decline (very good article!).2. Interesting parallels between China and its HSR intellectual property disputes and post-WWII Japan and Korea. More here.3. Fred Barnes writes a stupid article for the Weekly Standard … [Read more...]