Photo of the day: Balanced transport in the Netherlands
Flikr user Eric Kieboom uploaded a great aerial photograph of Groningen Central Station that shows what a balanced transport system looks like: The station manages to join up two efficient, high-capacity urban transport systems – cycling and rail – and even provides some space for parking.…
40 Comments Can new roads pay for themselves?
It’s common to hear people say that because roads are paid for by their users (fn 1), we should build more roads. After all, the new roads will fund themselves!
At first glance, this seems convincing. But a closer look reveals that the “new roads pay for themselves” argument is based on a logical fallacy.…
Cycling: the benefits of complete networks
A group of New Zealand researchers recently published an excellent paper on the costs and benefits of investing in a complete cycle network and safe street design. Their paper, which is available online, found that:
the benefits of all the intervention policies outweighed the harms, between 6 and 24 times.…
The case for free-market urbanism
In the National Review, a conservative American magazine, Reihan Salam takes a look at the confused state of the American debate over intensification. His article, entitled “The Great Suburbia Debate” criticises the position taken by Joel Kotkin, a long-time campaigner for low-density suburban development.…
Why it’s not possible to build our way out of congestion
Wired magazine recently published a good, succinct explanation of induced traffic. It’s worth reading in full as it hits upon an incredibly important, often overlooked fact: it’s not possible to eliminate congestion by building more roads. Here are a few of the more interesting excerpts:
The concept is called induced demand, which is economist-speak for when increasing the supply of something (like roads) makes people want that thing even more.…
Where does the New Zealand economy happen?
Vox recently published a list of “surprising maps” that documented counterintuitive or little-known facts about the world. Number 15 on the list was this map, which shows that 50% of US GDP is produced in a mere 23 urban areas: This map shows the economic importance of cities, which are tremendously productive precisely because they concentrate a lot of skills, ideas, and capital in a small area.…
How congested is Auckland, really?
A lot of people think that Auckland’s got bad traffic congestion. The annual TomTom Traffic Index reinforces this perception – it regularly describes Auckland as one of the most congested cities in the region. (We’ve previously highlighted the methodological flaws with TomTom’s numbers – don’t take them at face value!)…
Better cities can answer New Zealand’s export woes
In recent years the New Zealand economy has benefitted from tailwinds – strong Chinese demand for milk powder and raw logs, net inward migration driving up house prices, and, sadly, the need to rebuild our second-largest city. But should we be so happy to rest on our good fortunes, or are there long-term risks we need to manage?…
Choice matters: an economic parable
Lately I’ve been thinking about the role of choice in transport and housing. People often underestimate the power of choice in these particular markets. But it’s important to have options – even if someone wants to drive 90% of the time, having the option to take the bus or cycle instead the remaining 10% of the time can make them better off.…
The importance of housing choices in cities
Good cities should provide choices to their inhabitants. Any big (or small!) city is composed of a variety of people with various preferences, needs, and budgets. Look around you: Aucklanders are a bloody diverse bunch, and we’re getting more so as I type these words.…
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