Urbanism, architecture, transit, strawmen, etc.

[aknowledgeableperson]

With so many possessions people have nowadays I find it hard to believe people would be confined to just one room and a shared bath.

[pash]

.

[aknowledgeableperson]

A tiny house is quite different than a small room in a boarding house. A room with no running water. A room with a shared bathroom down the hall. No closet but an armoire.

[WinchesterMysteryHouse]

Are they talking about the West Bottoms? That's the only warehouse district I can think of that has retail but not much housing.

I think its not regarding the WB because the 'revitalization effort' hasn't been an 'effort' per se but rather a block by block, obscure thing. ...However, I don't have a guess as to where it refers 'cause haven't most revitalizations in KC been successful?

[heatherkay]

I thought they were probably talking about the River Quay revitalization attempt in the 70s and 80s.

[Eon Blue]

I thought they were probably talking about the River Quay revitalization attempt in the 70s and 80s.

Some context would have been quite helpful if that's the case. One could hardly call the River Market unsuccessful now.

[FangKC]

Norman Foster-Designed Scheme Aims to Transform London into “Cycling Utopia”

Foster + Partners has unveiled a scheme that aims to transform London’s railways into cycling freeways. The plausible proposal, which was designed with the help of landscape firm Exterior Architecture and transportation consultant Space Syntax, would connect more than six million residents to an elevated network of car-free bicycle paths built above London’s existing railway lines if approved.

http://tinyurl.com/l4rcnq3

[Zorobabel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6jFnOnjzrk

When you combine a street and a road, you get a STROAD, one of the most dangerous and unproductive human environments. To get more for our transportation dollar, America needs an active policy of converting STROADs to productive streets or high capacity roadways.

You think Main between Union Station and the Plaza qualifies as a stroad?

[smh]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6jFnOnjzrk

When you combine a street and a road, you get a STROAD, one of the most dangerous and unproductive human environments. To get more for our transportation dollar, America needs an active policy of converting STROADs to productive streets or high capacity roadways.

You think Main between Union Station and the Plaza qualifies as a stroad?

Very nearly.

[chaglang]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6jFnOnjzrk

When you combine a street and a road, you get a STROAD, one of the most dangerous and unproductive human environments. To get more for our transportation dollar, America needs an active policy of converting STROADs to productive streets or high capacity roadways.

You think Main between Union Station and the Plaza qualifies as a stroad?

Very nearly.

As does much of Troost, and Paseo between 47th and 31st.

[pash]

.

[pash]

.

[KCMax]

Make Your City Council Meetings Feel Like a Starbucks

Walk into a council chamber or school board meeting room in your town, and you’ll likely see rows of chairs facing some sort of raised dais or stage, where the council members or board members sit. (Check out images of city council meetings around L.A. County here.) The whole point of the setup is to have you look at the politicians, not your fellow citizens. Essentially, city council chambers are laid out like church, and, as in church, you’re not supposed to talk too much. So it’s not surprising that fewer and fewer Americans bother to go to city council meetings (or, for that matter, to church).

So where do people go? They go to places where they feel comfortable, where they can eat and drink, where tables and chairs are arranged in ways that encourage conversation, In my San Gabriel Valley community, there are so many people spending time sitting and talking at the three local Starbucks that it’s often hard to get a table. Great bars and restaurants always seem full. I don’t think I’ve ever managed to find an empty seat at our local ice cream parlor, Fosselman’s in Alhambra.


Rarely have I had this problem at city council or school board meetings.

[KCMax]

ATTN: BAHUA

Slate: Land Value Tax Won't Fix San Francisco

Here I'm afraid that I'm skeptical. There are lots of places in the United States of America—most places, even—where a tax on land value would be a great thing for housing affordability. For example, if Harris County in Texas replaced its property tax with a land value tax it would alter the incentives facing property owners in the Houston area. You'd get more building, less idle land, more housing supply, and lower rents. But in a place like San Francisco (or Cambridge, Mass.; or Manhattan; or Santa Monica, Calif.; or D.C.), the constraint on the supply of new buildings isn't really taxes it's zoning.

But maybe a good fix in a sprawled city like KC?

[flyingember]

ATTN: BAHUA

Slate: Land Value Tax Won't Fix San Francisco

Here I'm afraid that I'm skeptical. There are lots of places in the United States of America—most places, even—where a tax on land value would be a great thing for housing affordability. For example, if Harris County in Texas replaced its property tax with a land value tax it would alter the incentives facing property owners in the Houston area. You'd get more building, less idle land, more housing supply, and lower rents. But in a place like San Francisco (or Cambridge, Mass.; or Manhattan; or Santa Monica, Calif.; or D.C.), the constraint on the supply of new buildings isn't really taxes it's zoning.

But maybe a good fix in a sprawled city like KC?

would have to be a crazy high tax compared to now to make a dent in property taxes. especially since we already tax on land value

go look at APN JA29220280100000000 in the parcel viewer and property tax receipts with the county

they pay way more than the value of the improved property on this APN

the improved value is $272
they paid $19,600 in taxes for 2013

[longviewmo]

http://maps.jacksongov.org/PropertyRepo ... 0-0-00-000

Where do you see an improved value of $272?

[Volker Dad]

ATTN: BAHUA

Slate: Land Value Tax Won't Fix San Francisco

Here I'm afraid that I'm skeptical. There are lots of places in the United States of America—most places, even—where a tax on land value would be a great thing for housing affordability. For example, if Harris County in Texas replaced its property tax with a land value tax it would alter the incentives facing property owners in the Houston area. You'd get more building, less idle land, more housing supply, and lower rents. But in a place like San Francisco (or Cambridge, Mass.; or Manhattan; or Santa Monica, Calif.; or D.C.), the constraint on the supply of new buildings isn't really taxes it's zoning.

But maybe a good fix in a sprawled city like KC?

I'm a big fan of Matthew Yglesias and think he's exactly right on this.

It would be great for KC. Make a net zero shift from high taxes on buildings and low taxes on land to low taxes on buildings and high taxes on land. In other words, punish those who under use land and reward those who use it efficiently.

[flyingember]

http://maps.jacksongov.org/PropertyRepo ... 0-0-00-000

Where do you see an improved value of $272?

kcmo parcel viewer

[FangKC]

Warning Signs From Columbus About America’s Big Suburban Housing Glut

Between 1990 and 2012, for example, about 78 percent of population growth in the Columbus area was among households headed by people between 35 and 64 years old. That stage of life is the period of “peak housing demand,” when homeowners favor detached houses on large lots. But by 2030, that age group will make up just 22 percent of population growth — while homeowners over 65 will make up 56 percent of new households. Many of these older homeowners will want multi-family housing or single-family homes on small lots, according to Nelson.

It turns out that Columbus’s current housing stock is woefully mismatched to future needs. By 2040, as much as 40 percent of the demand for housing could be for attached, multi-family units, and another 30 percent will be for single-family homes on small lots, Nelson estimates.

http://tinyurl.com/myj2k57

[FangKC]

One of the methods Vancouver, BC, is using to grow denser is the use of lane houses, aka mother-in-law houses, which generally are small houses or combination garage/houses along alleys.

Laneway houses continue to soar in popularity in Vancouver

http://tinyurl.com/nzwjd6t

Metro Vancouver communities struggle to find ways to make densification gentler

http://tinyurl.com/mfa2uy4

Examples.

http://tinyurl.com/qzwlons