4 ms·
It is amazing to me that slums can even exist in a high cost of living city, where land is so expensive. You would have thought that given how scarce (expensive
by agent008t 7y ago
It is amazing to me that slums can even exist in a high cost of living city, where land is so expensive. You would have thought that given how scarce (expensive) the land is, it would be used most efficiently, with all buildings tending to be in top-notch condition and everywhere being fairly tidy and safe.
Basically, if you are the owner of a slum, it seems like it should make economic sense to sell the land to someone else as the value of the land would be higher than the value of the slum.
Why is the market not resulting in what I described?
- jvln 7y agoAs I see it - the land is owned by the city and city is lobbied by other landlords to keep all the crimes in a closed teritory. If you dismantle slums the people will spread all over the city and the crimes will follow.
- 0815test 7y agoSlums are due to insecure property rights, basically. You can't sell the land if you don't have anything approaching formal title to it, and for the same reason you aren't going to invest in high-quality housing or amenities. (Note that "property rights" need not be understood in a conventional sense! Indeed, long-term leases are far preferable to simple property in land, precisely because they do get rid of some residual uncertainty and market friction.)