The YIMBYs and Social Capture

Here it is necessary to take issue with a common belief about cities—the belief that uses of low status drive out uses of high status. This is not how cities behave, and the belief that it is (Fight Blight!) renders futile much energy aimed at attacking symptoms and ignoring causes. People or uses with more money at their command, or greater respec

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“Once we’ve spent the carbon costs necessary to put a new building up,” Heatherwick argues, “it’s crucial that it stays there being useful for as long as humanly possible. The worst thing we can do is knock the building down after just a few decades and put something new up. This is why boring buildings are much worse for the environment than inter... See more

At that point, China will have to choose between A) expensive upkeep and redevelopment to keep cities looking new, or B) patching up and painting over old buildings to save money. Japan actually chooses the former, which is why it still looks nice — but this eternal construction and beautification costs a lot of society’s resources. Hong Kong and T... See more