Image by Ed Keegan (facebook)
Response to “Steelmanning the NIMBYs” by Michael Lewyn
Scott Alexander, a West Coast blogger, has written a post that has received a lot of buzz, called “Steelmanning the NIMBYs”; apparently, “steelmanning” is the opposite of “straw manning”; that is, it involves making the best possible case for an argument you don’t really support.
The land price argument and why it fails by Michael Lewyn
One common argument against all forms of infill development runs something like this: “In dense, urban areas land prices are always high, so housing prices will never be affordable absent government subsidy or extremely low demand.
2. Also by Market Urbanism writers:
Nolan Gray at Strong Towns: Wide Streets as a Tool of Oppression
Nolan Gray at CityLab: The Improbable High-Rises of Pyongyang, North Korea
Nolan Gray at Strong Towns: What if Lexington Got Serious About Student Drunk Driving?
3. At the Market Urbanism Facebook Group:
Randy Shaw launched pre-orders for his upcoming book, Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America
Donald Shoup for Planning Magazine: Parking Price Therapy
Nolan Gray shares the campaign site for a YIMBY candidate, Sonja Trauss for Supervisor 2018
Matt Miller asks: What’s the future of retail?
Mark D Fulwiler says: Only about 4% of all commuters ( on average ) take mass transit on any given day
Ben Barov asks: Are vacancy taxes market urbanism?
Andrew Mayer asks: How much urban housing needs to be built to fix the deficit of supply?
James Hanley likes open space on waterfronts, but keeps thinking of Jane Jacobs‘ criticisms of big parks. “What are your responses to this?”
Via Adam Hengels: Steelmanning the NIMBYs
Via Shawn Ruest: Elizabeth Warren’s New Bill Would Spend $500 Billion on Housing
Via Carl Webb: So You Want to Change Zoning to Allow for More Housing
Via Stephen Bone: How Singapore Solved Its Housing Problem
Via Michael Burns: A Network of Prefab Tiny Homes Allows Users to “Pay as You Live”
Via Matt Robare: In Sherman Oaks, NIMBYs Loudly Draw A Line Against Homeless Housing — And Threaten Recall
Via Adam Hengels: How 1920s-era zoning laws separated people from what they love about cities
Via Ben Barov: Desire paths: the illicit trails that defy the urban planners
Via Chris Berggren: The Amtrak era is over. It’s time for a replacement
Via Mark Frazier: Tokyo may have found the solution to soaring housing costs
Via Adam Zielinski: Why you have (probably) already bought your last car
Via Rocco Fama: ACLU of California Endorses Proposition 10
Via Carl Webb: 8 Out of 10 New Apartment Buildings Were High-End in 2017, Trend Continues in 2018
Via Anand Venigalla: Why Is Big Government Popular in Urban Culture?
Via Randy Shaw: Bay Area far from progressive on housing
Via Adam Hengels: CNN Blames San Francisco’s Booming Tech Sector for a Government-Created Housing Shortage
Via Sean Reilly: Experts say California needs to build a lot more housing. But the public disagrees
Via Warren Chamberlain: Many S.F. Cabbies Are Losing One of the Last Places They Might Make a Buck
Via Randy Shaw: Pro-Housing Candidates Reshape Local Politics
4. Stephen Smith‘s tweet of the week:
Wash. State Sen. Guy Palumbo, from outside of Seattle, plans to intro a bill like Calif.’s SB 827, forcing cities to allow density near transit: 150 dwelling units per acre within 0.25 mi. of frequent transit, 45 du/acre w/in 0.5 mi., 14 du/acre w/in 1 mi. https://t.co/XHPqbUWIq8
— Market Urbanism (@MarketUrbanism) October 6, 2018