5 ms·

Re: Georgism. I ran across the wiki article on this a few weeks ago (I only recall George as being an also ran candidate for NYC, like Roosevelt). There is utop

Re: Georgism. I ran across the wiki article on this a few weeks ago (I only recall George as being an also ran candidate for NYC, like Roosevelt). There is utopian quote after utopian quote about both George the man and what Georgism could accomplish. Basically, you tax land value (unincorporated) and therefore business/people are encouraged to pay for the most valuably located lots while still encouraging development elsewhere and to discourage land speculation. The modern version is land value tax. I recently saw sama proposing what sounded a lot like it (though he didn't directly cite it as an influence) and it is certainly something that would be popular among the tech elite because another component of this is those taxes could theoretically fund UBI. Houston does seem like one of the best places in the world to test this out (exploding population, tons of existing value, zoning laws) but in the progressive era when this was but one of a lots of idea trying to gain traction, it was ruled unconstitutional by the state. It's something I'd love to see more discussion about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism Geoism seems to be the modern cultural correct identifier.

Pfhreak 5y ago
I wonder if a place like Houston would experience pretty dramatic shifts in culture as a result, particularly around the usages of cars and transit. IIRC, there are parking lots everywhere in Houston. A LVT would presumably make putting in denser uses more valuable or drive up the cost of parking. A lot in Downtown would surely bring in more rent as offices/housing/retail than just a surface lot. But then this applies pressures to those who commute in single occupancy vehicles, reduces the amount of available parking, and generally makes the downtown less desireable for those in the suburbs. To me, this is what we should be doing -- making driving into city centers for work quite unpalatable relative to transit -- but I wonder if Texas is culturally ready to even consider a change like that.
- photojosh 5y ago
  I'm in the eighth largest city in Australia (similar car-oriented like the USA, public transport is poor unless that's your #1 priority in housing). It's absolutely ridiculous that there can be large surface lots of parking right in the centre of town.
  - jcranmer 5y ago
    For an example of how stark it is in Houston: https://goo.gl/maps/DZmmyzuMczBzas967 https://goo.gl/maps/DZmmyzuMczBzas967 -- that's a surface parking lot (not even a garage!) surrounded by >30-story buildings, and kitty-corner to the second-tallest building in the state. I can't think of anywhere else I've seen such a thing. Ridiculous is an understatement.
    - photojosh 5y ago
      That's crazy. Makes my complaint pale in comparison.
- splitstud 5y ago
  Houstonians by and large don't drive into city centers for work. Workplaces are distributed throughout the area.

Pfhreak 5y ago

I wonder if a place like Houston would experience pretty dramatic shifts in culture as a result, particularly around the usages of cars and transit. IIRC, there are parking lots everywhere in Houston. A LVT would presumably make putting in denser uses more valuable or drive up the cost of parking. A lot in Downtown would surely bring in more rent as offices/housing/retail than just a surface lot. But then this applies pressures to those who commute in single occupancy vehicles, reduces the amount of available parking, and generally makes the downtown less desireable for those in the suburbs. To me, this is what we should be doing -- making driving into city centers for work quite unpalatable relative to transit -- but I wonder if Texas is culturally ready to even consider a change like that.

photojosh 5y ago
I'm in the eighth largest city in Australia (similar car-oriented like the USA, public transport is poor unless that's your #1 priority in housing). It's absolutely ridiculous that there can be large surface lots of parking right in the centre of town.
- jcranmer 5y ago
  For an example of how stark it is in Houston: https://goo.gl/maps/DZmmyzuMczBzas967 https://goo.gl/maps/DZmmyzuMczBzas967 -- that's a surface parking lot (not even a garage!) surrounded by >30-story buildings, and kitty-corner to the second-tallest building in the state. I can't think of anywhere else I've seen such a thing. Ridiculous is an understatement.
  - photojosh 5y ago
    That's crazy. Makes my complaint pale in comparison.
splitstud 5y ago
Houstonians by and large don't drive into city centers for work. Workplaces are distributed throughout the area.