The Reagan White House moved to lower tax rates for developers in the 1980s and then years of low interest rates glutted downtowns with office buildings. Time's up.
No. We’re sick of subsidizing suburbanites, like we have been for the last 80 years. Get with the times, or live in the country and leave your car at the edge of town.
I mean this is kinda the point. No one with a car wants to go into a downtown with no parking. And as people have figured out WFH, and way more people need to lower costs and stop paying so much for food. And shopping without a car is a PITA, I did it a couple times in college. Completely unworkable to go shopping once a week. I don’t want to spend my life daily going to the store. And now you can get everything delivered. So shopping is down to ‘event shopping’ like Macys at Christmas. Similarly for eating out, no one is looking to spend 40 for 2 at a subway. So if you’re spending lots of dollars you might splurge rarely and only go to high end restaurants killing off diners etc.
And people still find all this cheaper than living in cities. The rent and all other costs have been out of reach for decades. So like so much else, people need lower prices which seems unlikely, much higher wages, also unlikely, or cities continue to hollow out.
That sounds great until I start thinking about how to make it happen in a country where so much of the political and economic power is controlled by interests that are actively hostile to anything that would improve the lives of normal people.
No. We’re sick of subsidizing suburbanites, like we have been for the last 80 years. Get with the times, or live in the country and leave your car at the edge of town.
I mean this is kinda the point. No one with a car wants to go into a downtown with no parking. And as people have figured out WFH, and way more people need to lower costs and stop paying so much for food. And shopping without a car is a PITA, I did it a couple times in college. Completely unworkable to go shopping once a week. I don’t want to spend my life daily going to the store. And now you can get everything delivered. So shopping is down to ‘event shopping’ like Macys at Christmas. Similarly for eating out, no one is looking to spend 40 for 2 at a subway. So if you’re spending lots of dollars you might splurge rarely and only go to high end restaurants killing off diners etc.
And people still find all this cheaper than living in cities. The rent and all other costs have been out of reach for decades. So like so much else, people need lower prices which seems unlikely, much higher wages, also unlikely, or cities continue to hollow out.
It’s not even the first time cities have hollowed out.
“Will the last one leaving please turn off the lights”
I’ll just park at the big park and ride lot at the edge of town…oh wait, there aren’t any.
You’ve correctly identified the weakness in our infrastructure. Now, let’s push to get it done, yeah?
That sounds great until I start thinking about how to make it happen in a country where so much of the political and economic power is controlled by interests that are actively hostile to anything that would improve the lives of normal people.
Nobody said it was easy, but the alternative is give up and die. Personally, I’m too spiteful to accept that.