One of the core data sources for understanding homebuilding in the U.S. is the Census Bureau's Building Permit Survey. But a disturbing number of large cities and counties are lax in providing the monthly data that make the survey useful. The resulting lower-quality data impacts federal products, … [Read more...]
Homelessness exits: Systems or individual factors?
In a new essay for Works In Progress magazine, I explain how the familiar correlation between housing cost and homelessness works. The most intuitive explanation would be that in high cost cities, more people lack the income for very cheap shelter. But that's not true. Income varies more … [Read more...]
Housing filters (dorm / shelter edition)
From the Washington Post via Greater Greater Washington: New non-congregate shelter in for people experiencing homelessness opens in West EndThe shelter, in a former George Washington University dormitory, is meant for families without children under 18, individuals who were matched to permanent … [Read more...]
Where sale prices are going up
The conventional wisdom (based on Census estimates) seems to me that urban cores have lost population since COVID began, but are beginning to recover. But mid-decade Census estimates are often quite flawed. These estimates are basically just guesses based on complicated mathetmatical formulas, and … [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...]
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...]
Lessons from Cities and the Wealth of Nations: a manual for urban policymakers
Continuing this series of book reviews on Jane Jacobs’ works, I now turn to Cities and the Wealth of Nations. But there is already a fantastic piece on the Market Urbanism website, by Matthew Robare, who reviews this book and outlines what Jacobs overlooks in her analysis. So, this piece takes a … [Read more...]
Swimming against the tide
One common anti-urbanist argument is that families simply don't want to live in cities. But analysis by New York's Department of City Planning (DCP) also shows that prosperous parts of New York City generally added children, at least in the decade before the rise of the COVID-19 virus. DCP … [Read more...]
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