Is it even possible today to write a vigorous argument in favor of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s? I doubt it. So I was glad to stumble upon a copy of Jeanne Lowe's 1967 book, Cities in a Race with Time. Lowe is a sympathetic - but not sycophantic - observer of the urban renewal era, … [Read more...]
Master Classes
Check out Alain Bertaud's Master Class lecture at CEPT University in Ahmedabad, India.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgTzaLl_qNIYou can also see the talk I gave the same day:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWwlBnNET4kPro: When you speak to architects as a practitioner, they … [Read more...]
Hot takes and pensées, #UEA2024
The Urban Economics Association conference is always creative and constructive. Here are a few notes I wrote down, with apologies to the vast majority of researchers who presented work there which I didn't see.Alice Wang showed the most convincing evidence I've read on net costs of urban … [Read more...]
Book Review: (de)Coding Mumbai
On a recent visit to CEPT University, I received the generous gift of a few new books from CEPT University Press. One of these, (de)Coding Mumbai by Sameep Padora and Shreyank Khemalapure, is an attractive study of how Mumbai's architecture is a product of its building and zoning codes. The … [Read more...]
Toward an Erdmann synthesis
Kevin Erdmann has a good op-ed in the Washington Post today, arguing one of the two core points that have defined his work for the past several years: Fannie and Freddie have set credit standards too high since 2007. (His other core point, that "closed access" superstar cities have made it too hard … [Read more...]
Stone: Diversity didn’t cause the baby bust
There's a vigorous debate about whether various urban factors, like density, lower birth rates. In a new paper, Umit Gurun and David Solomon propose a new one that they claim accounts for 90% of the recent decline in birthrates:E Pluribus, Pauciores (Out of Many, Fewer): Diversity and Birth … [Read more...]
Harris’ housing target: Compared to what?
Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has pledged to work towards the construction of 3 million new housing units during her term. Setting aside the methods, what does that mean? And, as she said in a speech last week, would it "end America's housing shortage"?First, it's pretty obvious that Harris … [Read more...]
How much does delay cost?
Everyone agrees that delays and uncertainty are costly for housing development. But it's very hard to put a number on it. The obvious costs (lawyer hours, interest over many months) are surely an underestimate. Professors Stuart Gabriel and Edward Kung have a useful answer, at least for Los … [Read more...]