I have never met anyone who thought that strict zoning is awesome. Everyone realizes its negatives. But they still, when it comes to the property around them, support it. They think "sure, overall my city badly needs more housing. But I do not want a bunch of apartment complexes sprouting up near my single family home, increasing congestion, parking, and bringing in a lower socioeconomic group of people to lower the standards of my public school and dirty up my neighborhood. So I'm going to lobby my councilman to vote no on the relaxation of zoning." Mark Andreeson is a very public example of this. He is very smart, agrees with Bryan on the issue, yet violently opposed laxing the zoning in his upscale suburban Bay Area neighborhood.
I totally get why Bryan wrote books on voting, education, etc. Those were arguing against biases that most people hold. But the vast majority of people who think about politics agree with Bryan in the abstract.
In the talk with Tyler, that bit at the end about a new city getting stuff done in the first few years of creation and then tapering off reminded me of this post by Scott Aaronson: https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=762
Northern Virginia is already taking on more of the trapping of central cityhood, maybe DC will become the secondary area in time. A mix of yimby and nimby in the same area doesn't seem so bad.
I have never met anyone who thought that strict zoning is awesome. Everyone realizes its negatives. But they still, when it comes to the property around them, support it. They think "sure, overall my city badly needs more housing. But I do not want a bunch of apartment complexes sprouting up near my single family home, increasing congestion, parking, and bringing in a lower socioeconomic group of people to lower the standards of my public school and dirty up my neighborhood. So I'm going to lobby my councilman to vote no on the relaxation of zoning." Mark Andreeson is a very public example of this. He is very smart, agrees with Bryan on the issue, yet violently opposed laxing the zoning in his upscale suburban Bay Area neighborhood.
I totally get why Bryan wrote books on voting, education, etc. Those were arguing against biases that most people hold. But the vast majority of people who think about politics agree with Bryan in the abstract.
In the talk with Tyler, that bit at the end about a new city getting stuff done in the first few years of creation and then tapering off reminded me of this post by Scott Aaronson: https://scottaaronson.blog/?p=762
Honest question: how do you choose those cities or neighborhoods that should keep strict zoning regulations?
Just voting? Should expert opinion (architects) have any weight on the decision process?
Northern Virginia is already taking on more of the trapping of central cityhood, maybe DC will become the secondary area in time. A mix of yimby and nimby in the same area doesn't seem so bad.