A timely piece from Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman
Krugman notes:
“Houston’s sprawl
gave the city terrible traffic and an outsized pollution footprint even before
the hurricane. When the rains came, the vast paved-over area meant that rising
waters had nowhere to go. So is Houston’s disaster a lesson in the importance
of urban land-use regulation, of not letting developers build whatever they
want, wherever they want? Yes, but.
To understand that
“but,” consider the different kind of disaster taking place in San Francisco.
Where Houston has long been famous for its virtual absence of regulations on
building, greater San Francisco is famous for its NIMBYism — that is, the power
of “not in my backyard” sentiment to prevent new housing construction. The Bay
Area economy has boomed in recent years, mainly thanks to Silicon Valley; but
very few new housing units have been added. The result has been soaring rents
and home prices.”
Related:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/04/after-harvey-its-clear-the-secret-of-houstons-success-has-also-been-its-downfall