3rd out of 14 books
—
8 voters
The Gated City
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The main hypothesis is that several barriers to (re)development in the most productive cities of the US have pushed population to cities with lower densities and productivity, hampering economic growth and performance.
The book is written in the spirit of Glaesser's "Triumph of the city", but has notably less arguments and is focused much more on the aspect of development barriers.
I think the biggest advantage over Glaesser's is the (much smaller) time investment...more
The book is written in the spirit of Glaesser's "Triumph of the city", but has notably less arguments and is focused much more on the aspect of development barriers.
I think the biggest advantage over Glaesser's is the (much smaller) time investment...more
I enjoyed The Gated City, and I will be recommending it to others.
I’m planning to write a longer review for Talking Story, my blog, so briefly for now:
I can understand the feelings of the two previous reviewers now here, for both seem to be much more learned and familiar with the subjects at hand (urban planning, density economics etc.), however I greatly appreciated what Mr. Avent set out to do, in releasing his essay to the world-at-large as a very affordable Kindle Sin...more
I’m planning to write a longer review for Talking Story, my blog, so briefly for now:
I can understand the feelings of the two previous reviewers now here, for both seem to be much more learned and familiar with the subjects at hand (urban planning, density economics etc.), however I greatly appreciated what Mr. Avent set out to do, in releasing his essay to the world-at-large as a very affordable Kindle Sin...more
This book was disappointing. It was about cities, why they are important, and how city residents have kept cities from realizing their growth potential. I learned a few things from this book; namely how widespread the NIMBY effect is in urban areas, and how this keeps cities from making useful zoning changes. But I thought the author took far too long in making his points.
This was a short book, but it could have been much shorter. There was a ton of throat clearing, and not enoug...more
This was a short book, but it could have been much shorter. There was a ton of throat clearing, and not enoug...more
In the Gated City, Ryan Avent makes the argument that the potential for gains in productivity are hamstrung by America's policies that fight density. I think he argues his point satisfactorily, but his argument would have been stronger if he focused more on the idea that those fight density friendly developments, The NIMBYs, are in violation of the individual developers rights to use their private property in the manner they see fit.
This short book takes some shortcuts in the subject of housing in the US, and it's certainly not designed to be a primer on housing generally. It reads like an extended op-ed, and it contains a nice handful of good observations, connections, and ideas. Relies mostly on theoretical arguments vs evidence, but it makes a lot of sense. Solid single-sitting read.
The point is a bit belabored and the argument sometimes repetitive, but the author makes his point clearly. I left the book with a feeling of frustration over the scope and intractability of the problem (zoning reform).
This was a great read in a topic that I'm really interested in.
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