Market Urbanism MUsings April 8, 2016

1. This week at Market Urbanism:

Tory Gattis has an interesting take on the restaurant scene in Houston

Cities like to hype amenities like museums and performing arts, but really, how often do you go to a museum or an arts performance? A few times a year? How often do you eat out? Hopefully more than a few times a year

Calib Malik explains why Rent Control Is Bad For Both Landlords And Tenants

Void of analysis, rent control sounds utopian. Yet, the effects are unfortunate: tenants face limited housing stocks that are either run-down or unaffordable; landlords lose money, and ultimately stop investing and building altogether. And yet it is a policy now being flirted with in cities like Seattle, San Diego, and Richmond, California. The potential economic effect in those cities could be dire.

Johnny Sanphilippo wrote his predictions on the future of driverless cars

Here’s a little heads up for those of you who think you know how driver-less cars will play out in the culture and economy.

Asher Meyers recently moved to Brussels, and reports how the urban fabric fared after the terror attack.

The atrocity raises some interesting questions in regards to urbanism—are there certain urban designs that can prevent or discourage terrorism? Should the threat of terrorism influence the design of our cities? How would it?

Dan Keshet explains the 9 Barriers To Building Housing In Central City Austin

Austin, like most cities, has rules that prevent new housing from getting centrally built. That makes it easier to buy and build on virgin land in the suburbs. Here are some of those rules.

Scott Beyer continues his America’s Progressive Developers series in New Orleans with Sean Cummings and Steve Dumez

 In the process of building this expensive waterfront, [the city] avoided any value capture strategy, and in fact downzoned adjacent properties from 75′ to 55′. This means Cummings’ Rice Lofts, at 75′, would now be illegal; and that his future waterfront projects must be shorter.

2. Where’s Scott?

Scott spent his second week in Dallas. Tomorrow he is flying to Washington, DC, having been selected as a finalist for the Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship, a grant awarded by The Fund for American Studies. His Forbes article this week is about how Houston’s Wealth Drives A Culture Of Philanthropy:

There are literally billions of dollars flooding into the city for arts, education, health, criminal justice, social services, infrastructure, public amenities, and seemingly every other aspect of life. This money is often granted to organizations or entrepreneurs pursuing unique reforms, instilling a culture of innovation throughout the city.

3. At the Market Urbanism Facebook Group:

John Morris thinks Habitat for Humanity’s antics in Brooklyn deserves more attention

Nick Zaiac found a useful paper on unions and transit investment and the failings of DC’s Metro

Tobias Cassandra Holbrook is curious about micro-downtowns

Michael Lewyn‘s latest Planetizen post proposes a solution to NIMBYism

Emily Washington‘s article was republished at FEE

4. Elsewhere:

At least Paul Krugman is decent on urbanism

Matthew Yglesias: A Massachusetts state legislator has a big idea to ease the urban rent crisis

The idea: force towns to zone for multifamily uses

citizenlab‘s 10 Must-Read Books About The City Of Tomorrow

Daniel Hertz: Sprawl Beyond Zoning

5. Stephen Smith‘s Tweet of the Week:

Can we really not come up with a single “urban” issue at the federal level aside from subsidized housing? https://t.co/TSpZcg67cW

— Market Urbanism (@MarketUrbanism) April 6, 2016