Progressives often argue that American cities should imitate Vienna's 1920s strategy of building enormous amounts of public housing while controlling rents paid to private landlords. But a look at the birth of Vienna's public housing system shows why that system is not easily replicated.A … [Read more...]
Two Cheers for PHIMBY
One alternative to market urbanism that has received a decent amount of press coverage is the PHIMBY (Public Housing In My Back Yard) movement. PHIMBYs (or at least the most extreme PHIMBYs) believe that market-rate housing fails to reduce housing costs and may even lead to gentrification and … [Read more...]
Two cheers for subsidized housing
A pure libertarian might argue that in an ideal world, there'd be no need for government-subsidized housing for low- and moderate-income households. Nevertheless, it seems to me that in the world we actually live in, even people generally opposed to the welfare state should favor more such … [Read more...]
Friday links
1. Miller-McCune (what a bad name for a magazine) has an article about a possible VMT tax, and points out that more fuel-efficient vehicles will lead to less gas tax revenue.2. Streetsblog has an extremely unflattering profile of Republican nominee for NY Governor Carl Paladino. He made a name … [Read more...]
Weekend links
Links, links, links!1. The Washington City Paper has a great expose on street food in DC called "Inside D.C.'s Food-Truck Wars" with the subtitle "How some of Washington's most powerful interests are trying to curb the city's most popular new cuisine."2. Mary Newsom at the Charlotte Observer … [Read more...]