4/5/2016

CitiesforEveryoneTheNewYorkTimes

http://nyti.ms/1pYYCP7

TheOpinionPages

OPEDCOLUMNI ST

CitiesforEveryone
PaulKrugman

APRIL4,2016

RememberwhenTedCruztriedtotakeDonaldTrumpdownbyaccusinghim
ofhavingNewYorkvalues?Itdidntwork,ofcourse,mainlybecauseit
addressedthewrongformofhatred.Mr.Cruzwastryingtoassociatehisrival
withsocialliberalismbutamongRepublicanvotersdistastefor,say,gay
marriagerunsadistantsecondtoracialenmity,whichtheTrumpcampaignis
cateringtoquitenicely,thankyou.
ButtherewasanotherreasonassociatingMr.TrumpwithNewYorkwas
ineffective:Oldfashionedantiurbanrantsdontfitwiththerealitiesof
modernAmericanurbanism.Timewaswhenbigcitiescouldbeportrayedas
arenasofdystopiansocialcollapse,oframpantcrimeanddrugaddiction.
Thesedays,however,wereexperiencinganurbanrenaissance.NewYork,in
particular,hasarguablyneverbeenamoredesirableplacetoliveifyoucan
affordit.
Unfortunately,everfewerpeoplecan.Thatsthebadnews.Thegoodnews
isthatNewYorksgovernmentistryingtodosomethingaboutit.
So,aboutaffordability:Inthefirstquarterofthisyear,theaverage
apartmentsoldinManhattancostmorethan$2million.Thatnumberwill
comedownabit.Infact,thebuyingfrenzyhasalreadycooledoff.Still,such

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/04/opinion/citiesforeveryone.html

1/4

4/5/2016

CitiesforEveryoneTheNewYorkTimes

numbersareanindicatorofahousingmarketthathasmovedoutofthereach
ofordinaryworkingfamilies.True,pricesslumpedduringthenational
housingbustof20062009,butthentheybeganrisingagain,faroutpacing
gainsinfamilyincome.Andsimilarstorieshavebeenunfoldinginmanyofour
majorcities.
Theresult,predictably,isthattheurbanrenaissanceisverymuchaclass
basedstory.UpperincomeAmericansaremovingintohighdensityareas,
wheretheycanbenefitfromcityamenitieslowerincomefamiliesaremoving
outofsuchareas,presumablybecausetheycantaffordtherealestate.
Youmaybetemptedtosay,sowhatelseisnew?Urbanlifehasbecome
desirableagain,urbandwellingsareinlimitedsupply,sowouldntyouexpect
theaffluenttooutbidtherestandmovein?Whyarenturbanapartmentslike
beachfrontlots,whichalsotendtobeoccupiedbytherich?
Butlivinginthecityisntlikelivingonthebeach,becausetheshortageof
urbandwellingsismainlyartificial.Ourbigcities,evenNewYork,could
comfortablyholdquiteafewmorefamiliesthantheydo.Thereasontheydont
isthatrulesandregulationsblockconstruction.Limitsonbuildingheight,in
particular,preventusfrommakingmoreuseofthemostefficientpublic
transitsystemyetinventedtheelevator.
Now,Imnotcallingforanendtourbanzoning.Citiesarerifewith
spillovers,positiveandnegative.Mytallbuildingmaycutoffyoursunlighton
theotherhand,itmayhelpsustainthedensityneededtosupportlocalstores,
orforthatmatterawholecityseconomicbase.Theresnoreasontobelieve
thatcompletelyunregulatedbuildingwouldgetthebalanceright.
Butbuildingpoliciesinourmajorcities,especiallyonthecoasts,are
almostsurelytoorestrictive.Andthatrestrictivenessbringsmajoreconomic
costs.Atanationallevel,workersareonaveragemoving,nottoregionsthat
offerhigherwages,buttolowwageareasthatalsohavecheaphousing.That
makesAmericaasawholepoorerthanitwouldbeifworkersmovedfreelyto

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/04/opinion/citiesforeveryone.html

2/4

4/5/2016

CitiesforEveryoneTheNewYorkTimes

theirmostproductivelocations,withsomeestimatesofthelostincome
runningashighas10percent.
Furthermore,withinmetropolitanareas,restrictionsonnewhousing
pushworkersawayfromthecenter,forcingthemtoengageinlonger
commutesandcreatingmoretrafficcongestion.
Sotheresaverystrongcaseforallowingmorebuildinginourbigcities.
Thequestionis,howcanhigherdensitybesoldpolitically?Theanswer,surely,
istopackagealooseningofbuildingrestrictionswithothermeasures.Which
iswhywhatshappeninginNewYorkissointeresting.
Inbrief,MayorBilldeBlasiohaspushedthroughaprogramthatwould
selectivelyloosenrulesondensity,height,andparkingaslongasdevelopers
includeaffordableandseniorhousing.Theideais,ineffect,toaccommodate
therisingdemandofaffluentfamiliesforanurbanlifestyle,buttoharness
thatdemandonbehalfofmakingthecityaffordableforlowerincomefamilies
too.
Noteveryonelikesthisplan.Sureenough,therewerenoisyprotestsatthe
CityCouncilmeetingthatapprovedthemeasure.Anditwillbeyearsbeforewe
knowhowwellithasworked.Butitsasmartattempttoaddresstheissue,ina
waythatcould,amongotherthings,atleastslightlymitigateinequality.
AndmayIsayhowrefreshingitis,inthisghastlyyear,toseeapolitician
tryingtoofferrealsolutionstorealproblems?IfthisisanexampleofNew
Yorkvaluesinaction,weneedmoreofthem.
ReadPaulKrugmansblog,TheConscienceofaLiberal,andfollowhimon
Twitter.
FollowTheNewYorkTimesOpinionsectiononFacebookandTwitter,andsign
upfortheOpinionTodaynewsletter.
AversionofthisopedappearsinprintonApril4,2016,onpageA19oftheNewYorkeditionwith
theheadline:CitiesforEveryone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/04/opinion/citiesforeveryone.html

3/4

4/5/2016

CitiesforEveryoneTheNewYorkTimes

2016TheNewYorkTimesCompany

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/04/opinion/citiesforeveryone.html

4/4