Mid-week reading: California uber alles, road tolls, apartment design, and election reviews
I’m back to a mostly normal post-writing schedule, but mid-week reading will continue as an intermittent feature.
One of the most interesting things I’ve read recently was Jim Newton’s long interview with California Governor Jerry Brown (in UCLA Blueprint). Brown served two terms as governor in the 1970s and 80s, left politics for a while, and ultimately returned to serve another two terms as governor.…
6 Comments The end of Auckland’s old growth model
The New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development’s public shark-jumping exercise the other week got me thinking. While their flagship policy of a new megabillion eastern tunnel project is a bit mad, their report does a reasonable job of diagnosing one of the core problems facing Auckland.…
Sunday reading 22 May 2016
Welcome back to Sunday reading. This week, we’re leading off with two articles on innovative ideas from European places. The first is a Wired article explaining “why you should become an e-resident of Estonia“. Ben Hammersley reports on the Baltic country’s innovative approach to delivering government services digitally:
The most advanced digital society in the world is a former Soviet Republic on the edge of the Baltic Sea.…
The strange side effects of parking subsidies
Parking policies are frequently bizarre. Parking is, after all, a private good – it is both rivalrous (two cars can’t park in the same space at the same time) and excludable (if you don’t want someone parking in your space, you can keep them out).…
Apartments and housing affordability
The NZ Herald’s been running a series on Auckland’s housing affordability crisis. The articles thus far have ranged from thoughtful and thought-provoking to downright imbecilic – such as a mortgage broker’s suggestion that young people could afford homes if they gave up their Sky subscription.…
Congestion prices, carbon taxes, and the art of the possible
If you ask an economist about transport policy, it’s a certainty that they will mention congestion pricing at some point. It’s easy to see why. Currently, we manage our roads like a Soviet supermarket: access is rationed by queues rather than prices.…
Sunday reading 8 May 2016
I can’t believe it’s already May. What’s happened to the year? Anyway, welcome back to Sunday reading.
Today, I’d like to lead off with an important article by Huffington Post reporter Kate Abbey-Lambertz: “Cities aren’t designed for women. Here’s why they should be“.…
Let’s ban everything dangerous, like walking
This week, the Herald on Sunday published an article calling out a dangerous new practice: walking under the influence of a smartphone. According to them, careless walking causes literally dozens of injuries a year and should possibly be criminalised:
Now legislation has been introduced in New Jersey that would slap a US$50 ($72) fine and possible jail time on pedestrians caught using phones while they cross.…
Mid-week reading: Kim-Mai Cutler, map-making, the Black Death, and knowledge as a public good
Welcome back to mid-week reading. With luck, there are only going to be a few more of these until I’m back on a more regular posting schedule.
First piece of the week is from Kim-Mai Cutler, a tech journalist from San Francisco who’s produced some invaluable reporting on their (our) housing crisis.…
Sunday reading 24 April 2016
Welcome back to Sunday reading. This week, let’s start off with an impressive rant from Newshub reporter Lachlan Forsyth: “Auckland’s housing market is broken and it’s a lie to deny it“: Why is an entire generation being shut out of the housing market?…
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