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Book Review: Edward L. Glaeser, Triumph Of The City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, And Happier (The Penguin Press 2011), David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

It is always a bit unnerving to read someone else’s love letters, but even more so, when you have the same object of desire. Edward Glaeser’s TRIUMPH OF THE CITY is a love letter to cities and to New York City in particular. Glaeser provides a theoertical framework of the city, arguing that “Cities are the absence of physical space between people and companies. They are proximity, density, closeness.”

Glaeser prescribes three simple rules to protect the vitality of the urban environment: First, cities should replace the current lengthy and uncertain permitting process with a simple system of fees. Second, …

Three Principles For Federal Housing Policy, David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

Isolating first principles of housing policy helps identify what is intrinsic to that field. Once done, we can clearly analyze potential policy choices for housing specifically, as opposed to how they may contribute to some larger goal of social policy. Imposing some analytic structure here is of key importance because federal housing policy is a morass of programs and policies. This exercise should help to ensure that monies spent to increase the supply and quality of housing are used efficiently. I argue that the three first principles that inform federal housing policy are (i) allowing all Americans to live in …

Foundations Of Federal Housing Policy, David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

Federal housing policy is heavily funded and made up of a morass of programs. This book chapter provides a taxonomy of goals for housing policy. The chapter first asks what the aim of housing policy is. In other words, what can a well-designed and executed housing policy achieve? The answer to this question is not at all clear-cut. Some argue that the aim of housing policy is to allow all Americans to live in safe, well-maintained and affordable housing. Others argue for a more modest aim – achieving an income transfer to low- and moderate-income families that mandates that the …

First Principles For An Effective Federal Housing Policy, David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

Federal housing policy is heavily funded and made up of a morass of programs. This article provides a taxonomy of goals for housing policy. The article first asks what the aim of housing policy is. In other words, what can a well-designed and executed housing policy achieve? The answer to this question is not at all clear-cut. Some argue that the aim of housing policy is to allow all Americans to live in safe, well-maintained and affordable housing. Others argue for a more modest aim – achieving an income transfer to low- and moderate-income families that mandates that the income …

How We Got Where We Are: The Lessons Of History, David J. Reiss

David J Reiss

No abstract provided.