“Is the Auckland super city out of control?” Computer says “no”.
Many journalists and central government politicians (mainly the ones who sleep in blue or yellow pajamas) have recently promulgated the view that local government rates in Auckland are “out of control”. In the video below, Paul Henry gives you a flavour for the fervour emanating from these corners.…
108 Comments Amsterdam is “bad ass”
Greetings from Amsterdam. As some of you may know, I’ve recently moved here from Brisbane to begin a PhD in Economics. Fun times.
In this post I want to briefly touch on some reasons why Amsterdam is such a “bad ass” city and possibly glean some information that may be relevant to Auckland.…
Auckland could get more housing. True Storey.
Greetings from Amsterdam, where I’m happily ensconced in a multi-storey apartment building. Just now I had a look at the New Zild Herald, where I was disappointed to read this article from Bernard Orsman. Titled “Suburbs could get more apartments”, the article seems primarily designed to whip up fear, which is something I’ve criticised the Herald for previously. …
I like my house
I like my house.
My house consists of a 50sqm, one-bedroom apartment located in the “Brooklyn Building” on Emily Place in Auckland’s city centre. The Brooklyn Building is almost 100 years old and I understand it was designed by an American architect who originated from Chicago.…
John Key up the transport tax creek without a paddle
A wee while back Auckland Council adopted an interim “transport levy”. The levy amounts to $100 per household has been adopted as an interim measure for three years to accelerate a range of transport improvements that would otherwise be unfunded, e.g. …
How might the RMA amendments and the Auckland Plan impact on the Unitary Plan?
The advertisement below is from the last local government elections. Here Councillor Denise Krum rallies against the draft Unitary Plan, especially the degree to which it enables “intensification”. Denise’s advertisement claims the draft Unitary Plan is “too intense” and will “change our streets forever”. …
Toil and trouble; economy burn and housing bubble #4
Like Jack Tame, I’m surprised by the slow update of apartment living in New Zealand. I am also bored by the degree to which “wheel estate” dominates the public discourse, which I suspect is symptomatic of wider policy issues. No other country in which I have lived dedicates such a disproportionate amount of oxygen to the machinations of a single, relatively uninteresting market.…
The SH1/SH26 roundabout – what is going on?
In this recent post Matt asked why we were still building dangerous intersections. One part of his post caught my eye, specifically proposed changes to the intersection of SH1 and SH26 in the Waikato. The location of this intersection is shown below.…
“Why economists tend to be in bad odour …” – Cycleways in Christchurch
In an 1879 essay, Francis Walker tried to explain “why economists tend to be in bad odour amongst real people.” Walker, who went on to become the first president of the American Economic Association, argued that it was partly because economists disregard “…the customs and beliefs that tie individuals to their occupations and locations and lead them to act in ways contrary to the predictions of economic theory.” …
Toil and trouble; economy burn and housing bubble #3
Within hours of my last post on the housing “bubble” going live, news broke of a radio advertisement airing in Singapore, Malaysia, and Queensland which described Auckland as “an investor’s dream”. The radio advertisement went on to state:
“Now many people invest in Auckland because of the high demand for rents.…
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