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MARKET_BLIND

                                                      April 16, 2014

The free market ideal of the
all-wise "invisible hand" allocating
resources perfectly (or at least,
optimally) has a certain seductive
appeal, particularly to minds in
need of simple explanations--
certainly I've felt that appeal
(which no doubt says something).

     The always prevalent, highly visible
     foot soldiers of The Hand have been
     out in force of late on the always       (Those silly google bus
     popular subject of San Francisco         protestors!  They're so
     housing prices.                          stupid they've got everyone
                                              talking about the issues
                                              they care about.)

So an interesting phenomena is upon
us now: Free Market New Urbanism.

There's a confluence of simple
supply-and-demand reasoning and
the now widly accepted insight
that low-density zoning of
suburban sprawl was a bad idea:

   High housing prices?
   That means we should increase
   the housing supply!
   Build, baby, build!


          I will have more to say about this,
          no doubt... some points in outline:

          o  Why is it San Francisco's problem
             to upzone?   Why not Mountain View's?

          o  New construction would seem less
             repellent if they could build something
             that wasn't repellent.






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