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Posted by Jonny on September 5, 2006, 12:05 pm
> Something to muse about!
>
> http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4772
>
> /excerpt
>
> A central reason why housing is so expensive in Portland (and most other
> Oregon cities) is that the government has created an artificial shortage
> of homes through zoning and other types of land-use regulation.
>
> A recent study by the Brookings Institution found this to be true on a
> national scale as well. The authors examined land-use polices among the
> nation's 50 largest cities, and found that those cities with the least
> amount of zoning - Dallas, San Antonio and Houston - had the cheapest
> rents and the lowest home prices of all cities. Not only that, the three
> Texas regions had lower concentrations of poverty, higher home ownership
> rates, and larger concentrations of college graduates than cities with
> strict growth controls such as urban growth boundaries.
>
> /end
>
The basis (2.05MB):
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20060802_Pendall.pdf
Austin is the city with all the college graduates, its not a region.
Population growth has to stop. The San Antonio and surrounding areas, rely
on the Edwards Aquifer for its only adequate water supply Between the year
long drought and sprawling residential areas eating into where rainwater
would normally enter the aquifer from the surface, its getting dangerously
low. West of Austin, some wells have run dry.
In fat times of rainfall, this isn't a problem, and hasn't really been a
serious problem till now. As populations eat away at the aquifer's source
of water by covering it with buildings, houses, roads and parking lots; and
increasingly continue to use its waters, the next drought will be dire for
all the inhabitants in the area.
Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio all have the surburbanite
mindset of moving to the new housing developments always on its fringes or
just outside their city limits. Later to all be incorporated into their
cities shortly afterwards. Its a vicious cycle. This is not urban growth,
its incorporated new housing development with maximum taxable and income
growth to go with it for the city. Barely developed land or undeveloped
land for housing and commercial buildings has no realized money return.
Older housing is typically very run down almost inhabitable, very
inexpensive to rent or buy by middle income standards. There is no need to
regulate this if the money return for the municipality is there. That's the
bottom line, population growth (tax base) and uncontrolled land usage.
--
Jonny
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