by Shanu AthiparambathYears ago, I worked for a magazine in Delhi. I wanted to live near the magazine office, but the rent was too damn high. In a low-rent area nearby, I rented a dingy room my girlfriend named “The Black Hole.” In buildings sitting across the street from mine, rents were many … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism MUsings March 25, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbanism: Emily Washington described The Need For Low-Quality Housing in America's most desirable cities.People of very little means could afford to live in cities with the highest housing demand because they lived in boarding houses, residential hotels, and low-quality … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism MUsings: February 19, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbanism:Shanu Athiparambath has his first post on the blog via Scott Beyer: Economist David Friedman Says India Must Go Taller to Make Homes Affordable I remember my father saying that when he visited India in the 1950s and 1960s, bureaucrats in Delhi made arguments for … [Read more...]
Some notes on slums and free markets
Recently I've been seeing a lot of articles about slums (the NYT on Gurgaon, India, and the Guardian on Cairo), and inevitably the phrase "free market" gets thrown around. And as it should – so-called "slums" often have very minimal active governance, and as a result they often have very dynamic … [Read more...]
Prince Charles on urbanism: the good and the bad
Prince Charles, perhaps the world's most famous urbanist, on Dharavi, which he's planning to replicate in either Calcutta or Bangalore: Unlike the ‘fragmented, deconstructed housing estates’ built in the West, the slum has ‘order and harmony’ he claimed, adding: ‘We have a great deal to learn about … [Read more...]
Midweek link list
1. Mumbai is rethinking its density bonuses for developers who build parking lots and hand them over free of charge to the city.2. Tort liability driving away possible MARC operators.3. San Mateo County legislators threaten to charge San Franciscans a congestion charge similar to the one … [Read more...]
Premium link list
Recently I've been delaying posting a few things because I wanted to wait till I had more time to cover them, but I'm realizing that I'll probably have new things to write about on the 15th (which is when regular posting will hopefully resume), so have at it – your first ever premium link … [Read more...]
Another week, another consolation link list
Another week without posts (from me, at least), another giant consolation link list! I've got a lot of them piling up and probably won't be back to regular posting for a few more days, so I'll try to spread them out over a few posts.1. Wendell Cox's Demographia came out with its 2010 … [Read more...]