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> This is really underselling the simple fact that our federal dollars still heavily subsidize suburban development at the expense of urban amenities and develo

> This is really underselling the simple fact that our federal dollars still heavily subsidize suburban development at the expense of urban amenities and development patterns. This is simply not true. Secondly, the restrictions around urban development are self-imposed at either the State or Local level. SF, NYC, Chicago, etc. have zoning and development restrictions that Houston, Atlanta, Austin do not. Astute observers may determine for themselves why that is, but this is not a federal or subsidy issue. (Just how much has the CA never-to-be-completed train cost again?...)

naravara 7y ago
> This is simply not true. Secondly, the restrictions around urban development are self-imposed at either the State or Local level. Made possible by the unending spigot of funding for laying down asphalt. These decisions become less and less tenable when the underlying substructure goes away. What’s more is that it’s not even accurate. There is no equivalent federal impetus behind building walkable neighborhoods and transit the way there is to subsidize the maintenance of road expansions and interchanges. 4 out of 5 federal transit dollars go to highways. And it even goes into what we do through industrial policy. We didn’t bail out people who make trains or buses, we made the auto industry the national manufacturing priority. For God’s sake the government doesn’t even build railroads. They’re all private and leased. > Just how much has the CA never-to-be-completed train cost again? A fraction of DoT funding to serve way less dense population clusters. What’s more, transit projects get decided in ways that are lousy with veto points while highway funding just gets put through with little resistance.
fzeroracer 7y ago
Honest question: Have you lived in Austin? Because there's no way it's going to survive the influx of people it's seeing, in part because it faces the exact same urban development crisis that other cities are facing and making the exact same mistakes. For every person that points to Houston or Austin as being exemplary examples, I wonder if they have actually tried living there. This is before we even start talking about the dire nature of trying to walk anywhere in these cities.
- abernard1 7y ago
  Honest answer: I have lived in Austin for 10 years off-and-on (I had a startup where I had to drive 6 hours to a different State every 2 weeks for 3 years). I have lived there permanently for 7 years. I have also lived in Houston, 2 other cities in Texas (including Midland), 6 other states in the U.S., and was not born or raised in the United States. For the last 7 years, I have also worked for companies where the tech headquarters were either in NY or SF.
projektfu 7y ago
Where do you get the idea that Atlanta does not have zoning and development restrictions?

naravara 7y ago

> This is simply not true. Secondly, the restrictions around urban development are self-imposed at either the State or Local level. Made possible by the unending spigot of funding for laying down asphalt. These decisions become less and less tenable when the underlying substructure goes away. What’s more is that it’s not even accurate. There is no equivalent federal impetus behind building walkable neighborhoods and transit the way there is to subsidize the maintenance of road expansions and interchanges. 4 out of 5 federal transit dollars go to highways. And it even goes into what we do through industrial policy. We didn’t bail out people who make trains or buses, we made the auto industry the national manufacturing priority. For God’s sake the government doesn’t even build railroads. They’re all private and leased. > Just how much has the CA never-to-be-completed train cost again? A fraction of DoT funding to serve way less dense population clusters. What’s more, transit projects get decided in ways that are lousy with veto points while highway funding just gets put through with little resistance.

fzeroracer 7y ago

Honest question: Have you lived in Austin? Because there's no way it's going to survive the influx of people it's seeing, in part because it faces the exact same urban development crisis that other cities are facing and making the exact same mistakes. For every person that points to Houston or Austin as being exemplary examples, I wonder if they have actually tried living there. This is before we even start talking about the dire nature of trying to walk anywhere in these cities.

abernard1 7y ago
Honest answer: I have lived in Austin for 10 years off-and-on (I had a startup where I had to drive 6 hours to a different State every 2 weeks for 3 years). I have lived there permanently for 7 years. I have also lived in Houston, 2 other cities in Texas (including Midland), 6 other states in the U.S., and was not born or raised in the United States. For the last 7 years, I have also worked for companies where the tech headquarters were either in NY or SF.

projektfu 7y ago

Where do you get the idea that Atlanta does not have zoning and development restrictions?