Autonomous vehicles work. They are already replacing full-time service drivers in Uber, Lyft, and taxis. Delivery vehicles might come soon. Corporate fleet vehicles. And the big jump, of course, will be when they're available as private vehicles. It's possible that the costs are high enough … [Read more...]
A Case for Urban Renewal
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. You can also see the talk I gave the same day: Pro: When you speak to architects as a practitioner, they call it a "master class", which is very flattering. Cons: Don't try to follow Alain Bertaud. … [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...]
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