
How big cities that restrict new housing harm the economy - jseliger
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/07/25/how-big-cities-that-restrict-new-housing-harm-the-economy/
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dalke
Are there any restrictions which don't 'harm the economy'?

Why can't I interpret the analysis to mean the population of the city is
willing to pay an extra (made up number of) $300/month per capita in order to
preserve the current system?

> New housing supply benefits the entire city, even if that new supply takes
> the form of luxury condos. Tenant activists have regularly objected to new
> luxury developments as just another sign of gentrification. But even if that
> housing is intended for high-income tech workers, it will take some pressure
> off the existing units that those tech workers have occupied at the expense
> of middle- and lower-income residents. In effect, this means that affordable
> housing advocates who want to block new high-end developments are simply
> making the city more expensive.

Let's consider this more closely. Would a restriction on luxury condos harm
the economy, using the same analysis factors? I assume the answer is yes.

Would a restriction on luxury condos, but increasing the number of apartments,
make the city more affordable? I assume the answer is yes.

If both are yes, then it means that actions to make the city more affordable
can end up harming the economy. Which then means that 'simply making the city
more expensive' cannot be used by itself to justify having luxury apartments.

If one or both is 'no', why?

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norea-armozel
I feel like the question of whether or not St. Louis (one example city)
couldn't be as productive as San Francisco is left hanging. For certain kinds
of industries like manufacturing, location is everything but for software
development and most non-face-to-face service industries you don't need the
person to be in the same city or country to be productive. If anything, the
article is built on the assumption productivity is the same across all
industries in as much as the methods to achieve it. An office in St. Louis is
just as good as an office in San Francisco or San Jose. Equally, a person in
their own private office is just as productive as someone in their cubicle
following similar practices of work. Frankly, the idea that everyone has to be
in SV to make the same software of the same quality and at the same
productivity level is at best naive.

