Book review: William Fischel, Zoning Rules! (2 of 2)
Over the holidays, I read William Fischel’s new book, Zoning Rules! It’s an important text for anybody seeking to understand why zoning (and urban planning in general) was invented and proliferated, and how they influence the shape of our cities and societies.…
44 Comments Book review: William Fischel, Zoning Rules! (1 of 2)
Over the holidays, I read William Fischel’s new (2015) book on urban planning, Zoning Rules! The Economics of Land Use Regulation. It’s an important, interesting, and – fortunately for me – readable book on the topic. Fischel draws upon three or four decades of research on the topic, as well as his experience as a member of his local zoning board in New Hampshire.…
Building a better city: Policies and perspectives (part 2 of 2)
This is the second and final post discussing some broad ideas for building a better city. The first post discussed the dynamic nature of cities and argued that a focus on appropriate pricing and incentive mechanisms was important to managing urban ills without stifling beneficial change.…
The high cost of free parking
The announcement of the Commercial Bay development last week got me thinking about minimum parking requirements.
MPRs were removed from the city centre back in the late 1990s. Prior to that point,all new developments were required to provide parking at roughly the same rate as suburban developments.…
Why I’m optimistic New Zealand can solve its housing troubles
What’s the problem?
Housing is expensive in New Zealand, especially in Auckland, where median house prices have increased fivefold since the early 1990s (in nominal terms). Roughly half of this increase has occurred in the last four years, which is causing quite a bit of concern: Housing markets are complex – prices are influenced by both demand-side and supply-side variables.…
Are cities really getting less dense?
I have been pondering a comment in William Fischel’s generally excellent new book on zoning to the effect that:
…suburbanization and reduced urban density are worldwide phenomena. All but 16 of the 120 urban areas on every continent grew outward and reduced their overall population densities in the last decade of the previous millennium, even as almost all of them grew in total population.…
Optimal heritage zoning: an empirical perspective
Back in July, I went down to Wellington for this year’s New Zealand Association of Economists conference. I really enjoy NZAE – people attend because they’re genuinely excited about sharing their ideas and learning from other people. (Stu Donovan and John Polkinghorne were also there.)…
Concepts: Elasticity of housing supply
How should we think through the dynamics of housing markets?
Conceptually, there’s a very simple answer and a very complex one. The simple version is that housing is just another market, shaped by the interaction of demand – i.e. people turning up with money to buy dwellings – and supply – people building new dwellings to meet demand.…
Is Demographia right about the cost of planning? A proof by contradiction
Demographia state that planning regulations – or, more precisely, metropolitan urban limits – cause houses to be unaffordable. Without planning, they claim that the median house would cost no more than 3 times the median household income.
Is this claim actually true?…
Submit on the Rules Reduction Taskforce
The Government has set up a “Rules Reduction Taskforce” to look at options for revamping housing and property rules. They’re currently asking for online submissions to help inform their work. Submissions close on Monday 1 June, which is next week, so if you want to have a say, head to their website and put in a submission.…
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