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But why is this the case? Largely because land use (powerful local zoning + low holding costs for land) incentivizes sprawl over infill. Consider cities that d
by bufordsharkley 10y ago
But why is this the case? Largely because land use (powerful local zoning + low holding costs for land) incentivizes sprawl over infill.
Consider cities that do better for transit by building upward. This is usually a case of a more sane zoning system, like in Tokyo[0], or ownership residing in the municipality, like Hong Kong.[1]
[0] http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2014/04/japanese-zoning.html
[1] http://www.hkclic.org/en/topics/saleAndPurchaseOfProperty/basic_knowledge_of_land_ownership_in_hong_kong/ http://www.hkclic.org/en/topics/saleAndPurchaseOfProperty/ba...
- remarkEon 10y agoFun fact: most zones in LA County require developers to build parking on a per-bedroom basis, so they tend to build ~2.5 stalls per unit, and most of the time that ends up being subterranean. That'll add ~$100k in development costs per unit right off the bat. They can sell the stalls individually (I believe) but because of the economics of the market it just doesn't make sense to build anything but luxury. That one rule is a significant cause of both sprawl and car addiction here, as well as more negative trends in housing availability. Edit: If people are interested, here's the list of zoning requirements for Residential Zones in Los Angeles County. http://planning.lacounty.gov/luz/summary/category/residential_zones/ http://planning.lacounty.gov/luz/summary/category/residentia...
- dublinben 10y agoResidential (and commercial) parking minimums need to be abolished. Set parking maximums if you must impose some rules, and then allow the market to settle on appropriate amount of parking for a new development.
- remarkEon 10y agoI'm sure there's some research on this somewhere, but parking minimums have got to be one of the most distortive policies to ever emerge in urban planning.
- oftenwrong 10y agoThis is pretty much the definitive book on the subject: https://www.amazon.com/dp/193236496X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_NMZVyb8WPJC3C https://www.amazon.com/dp/193236496X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_NMZ...
- remarkEon 10y agoVery nice, thanks for the recommendation.
- nosuchthing 10y agoDonald Shoup is an expert on parking and urban development! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVteHncimV0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVteHncimV0
- remarkEon 10y agoHaha I've seen him around campus. TIL.
- droopyEyelids 10y agoContributing factor: American cities are young enough they haven't had to pay for infrastructure replacement without bail-outs in the form of income from new construction that hasn't faced a replacement cycle yet, or the federal government. It's called "The Growth Ponzi-Scheme" https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/ https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/