Prince Charles, perhaps the world's most famous urbanist, on Dharavi, which he's planning to replicate in either Calcutta or Bangalore: Unlike the ‘fragmented, deconstructed housing estates’ built in the West, the slum has ‘order and harmony’ he claimed, adding: ‘We have a great deal to learn about … [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...]
Yet another town moves from parking minimums to maximums with no stop in between
Despite its ridiculously biased opening sentence ("Fairfax County residents will have a harder time finding a free parking space in some neighborhoods if transportation planners get their way"), the Washington Post actually has a relatively informative article on potential new parking maximums in … [Read more...]
Terrorism and cities, then and now
I don't want to give anyone the impression that I (or Robert Fogelson) thinks that the threat of nuclear war in the 1950s was anything but a minor footnote in the history of American decentralization, but this bit from Fogelson's Downtown (I finally finished! – review forthcoming) caught my … [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...]