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Cities also depend on tax revenue from commercial properties & businesses that primarily serve commuters. It's an issue, but distinct from where people choose t

• shortrounddev2 3y ago
  It's not all about tax revenue, it's also about economic activity. If people who previously spent money in downtown areas on retail and food no longer have any reason to go to downtown areas, then jobs in those downtown areas will disappear. But if people continue to drive or commute out of their way or live in a more expensive city because they just really really like that city, then there will be no problem. My hypothesis is that most people do not want to live in these cities, for the reasons I mentioned above, and if we want to save the jobs that are now at risk because of these knock-on effects, then we need to make cities more livable for people and less drivable
  • closeparen 3y ago
    Indeed, most Americans do not want to live in Manhattan, that's why a nice 1BR there is only $5k/mo. Manhattan will be fine unless rents fall so low that buildings aren't worth maintaining or property tax receipts don't cover adequate services. That's far away.
    • shortrounddev2 3y ago
      Manhattan will survive; it survived the 1970s, it will survive falling demand for office buildings The article is concerned with mid sized cities though, which don't have the cultural appeal of Manhattan or other economic factors keeping it afloat. Some of these cities depend on the office jobs from a handful of companies
      • 7speter 3y ago
        The mta, which would be how you fulfill the “car-less city dream” in Manhattan is 50 billion dollars in debt.