The Democratic Safe House

[iluvatar5150]

Pretty fair assessment I think. For example, one massive negative re inflation is of course housing -- both buying and renting: which are artificially inflated prices due to zoning restricting construction and density (such as being able to construct a rental unit on your house property, etc., or being able to build a multi-unit on a 'single family' zoned area, etc.), so a reasonable response would be to consider whether the federal government could do something to encourage better zoning (or make a law that controls local zoning excesses). Houston is a great example of what a big city can be like in housing costs if there is little restriction in zoning -- it has much lower housing costs due having very little zoning restrictions.

Here's a review article:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/a...g-affordability-nimby-parking-houston/661289/

An excerpt:
It doesn’t have to be this way. In cities like Minneapolis and Hartford, local YIMBY groups have abolished zoning policies such as minimum parking requirements. In states like California and Oregon, policy makers now heavily restrict the ability of local governments to ban apartments. At the federal level, bills with unsubtle names such as the “Yes In My Backyard Act” and the “Build More Housing Near Transit Act” are winding their way through Congress. If passed, they would tie coveted federal dollars to zoning liberalization, providing a needed check on local NIMBY impulses.
...
Consider America’s lone unzoned major city. Houston twice put zoning to a citywide vote, where it lost because of opposition from working-class voters of all races. As a result, land-use regulation in Houston is largely focused on regulating actual nuisances, like noisy neighbors or slaughterhouses; the city’s few zoninglike regulations, such as minimum lot sizes and parking mandates, are on the way out. Blocks that want stricter rules can voluntarily opt into them through private deed restrictions. But they can’t just show up at public hearings and shout their preferences into law.

The results speak for themselves. Houston builds housing at 14 times the rate of peers like San Jose. And it isn’t just sprawl: In 2019, Houston built roughly the same number of apartments as Los Angeles, despite being half its size. Since reforms to minimum-lot-size rules were put in place in 1998, more than 25,000 townhouses have been built, overwhelmingly in existing urban areas.

To be clear, Houston has made its share of planning mistakes. But, free of zoning, the city can constantly remake itself. That Houston is now one of the most affordable and diverse cities in the country is no accident.

While I generally agree with the points of the article, using Houston as a model is just.... yikes. Yes, the housing may be affordable, but that's partly because Houston has subsumed many surrounding communities and, as a result, has a lot of empty land on which to build. According to the article, it's not "all sprawl," but IME a lot of it is sprawl. The times I've been to Houston, it's mostly been on the southeastern side around JSC and towards Galveston, and the area is just a sea of highways, strip malls, and parking lots. Sure, you save on housing costs (which are depressed, in part, by high-ish property taxes), but how much extra are you spending on transportation because the road system is a mess and public transit is non-existent and entirely unfeasible?

 

[Halbhh]

While I generally agree with the points of the article, using Houston as a model is just.... yikes. Yes, the housing may be affordable, but that's partly because Houston has subsumed many surrounding communities and, as a result, has a lot of empty land on which to build. According to the article, it's not "all sprawl," but IME a lot of it is sprawl. The times I've been to Houston, it's mostly been on the southeastern side around JSC and towards Galveston, and the area is just a sea of highways, strip malls, and parking lots. Sure, you save on housing costs (which are depressed, in part, by high-ish property taxes), but how much extra are you spending on transportation because the road system is a mess and public transit is non-existent and entirely unfeasible?

Since my dad lived in and around houston (and is still in a nearby suburb) for about 40 years now, I've been there on visits I guess about 40 times for days and weeks at a time in many areas around the city, and it's added up over the years to a lot of Houston experience without actually living there myself.

For instance I vividly remember one visit where it was time to get some groceries, so my dad drove a few minutes and I thought we were about to arrive at the grocery store and next thing I know he's merging onto like I-45 and it's 12 lanes (6 each way) and we are going 75 mph and it's like we must be going on a trip somewhere, and then we drive like 4 or 5 minutes(!)....lol...and finally exit to some grocery store that he liked.

lol....

I recall another visit me and friend did where we drove ourselves to Houston skipping class in high school to do 6 flags (roller coasters), and then got stuck on the 610 loop (no google those days), and sat there about 45 minutes and it was like 96 degrees or something and super humid, and of course we had no A/C, lol...

So, I feel like I know what the Houston experience is like to some degree. Mosquitos in direct sunlight. Lots of driving just to go anywhere. But the people are nice!

So....is it better than some place like Dallas or Boston or Chicago or LA (all of which I've visited enough to know pretty well what they are like)?

YES, by a mile! (or 10 I guess is the right metaphor)

Having had a ton (or 3) of culture/art/museums/experiences in so many cities, like NY (10 visits, for about 10-12 weeks worth), Austin (25 years), Buenos Aires (2 weeks), etc. I can say there are a lot of great cities around to visit or live in, and I've a clue what they are like.....

But....Houston holds it own in its own way -- it's not so bad!

I've been there a lot for a lot of weeks, and I'm not just guessing. It's really not so bad. You can even get some nice art like Rothko even (if far less choices than NYC), but that's not all I'm thinking of -- it's just pleasant, and the living is easy. Houston is where people enjoy their lives a lot it seems like. I've seen it on their faces in many places it seems like to me. I look at faces a lot.

I don't want to live there simply because I hate the humidity and the mosquitos and don't want to spend so much time indoors in A/C as that life style....but....it's not a bad place to live for those living there at least in the areas I was in (maybe that's upper middle class compared to Houston itself, but still, they have it ok and have a more relaxed life that makes them smile more than people in NYC, LA, Austin, Boston, Chicago, etc.).

 

[mark46]

While I generally agree with the points of the article, using Houston as a model is just.... yikes. Yes, the housing may be affordable, but that's partly because Houston has subsumed many surrounding communities and, as a result, has a lot of empty land on which to build. According to the article, it's not "all sprawl," but IME a lot of it is sprawl. The times I've been to Houston, it's mostly been on the southeastern side around JSC and towards Galveston, and the area is just a sea of highways, strip malls, and parking lots. Sure, you save on housing costs (which are depressed, in part, by high-ish property taxes), but how much extra are you spending on transportation because the road system is a mess and public transit is non-existent and entirely unfeasible?

I am not sure that the housing inflation of the last10 years is due to new zoning regulations.

Let's be clear, before the pandemic we had a long time of very low inflation,

 

[iluvatar5150]

I am not sure that the housing inflation of the last10 years is due to new zoning regulations.

Let's be clear, before the pandemic we had a long time of very low inflation,

The zoning regs have been around a while. They're just becoming more salient because demand keeps growing in certain areas that can't build new housing to meet the demand. When supply is inelastic and demand grows, prices spike.

 

[Halbhh]

I am not sure that the housing inflation of the last10 years is due to new zoning regulations.

Let's be clear, before the pandemic we had a long time of very low inflation,

New zoning? Well, maybe sometimes. Mostly zoning regulations are old stuff, so, the highest inflations I'd bet are typically in areas with old zoning regulations.
Compare with Houston to see how housing costs tend to trend with less zoning rules.

Yes, we had low inflation a long time before the pandemic. Inflation is just the outcome of precisely how many dollars are chasing precisely how much available supply of goods/services.