Instapundit talks with Urban Theorist Joel Kotkin; Wisdom Ensues
Out on the West Coast in LA, Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit talks with demographer and urban theorist Joel Kotkin about car haters and more.
Kotkin's a great voice on how cities either flourish or die depending on how easy they make it for people to live there. He was a great presence in Reason Saves Cleveland with Drew Carey, speaking up in defense of places such as Houston, which despite its enormous success in attracting people, is often pooh-poohed as ugly or awful or sprawling etc. Rather than building "Edifice Complex" structures such as sports stadiums and largely unused light-rail systems, Kotkin says cities do best to keep taxes and regulation low and consistent and provide a reliable backdrop against which individuals can plan and build their lives. Watch the final episode of RSC, "Bring the People Back":
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Come on. Detroit has two beautiful major league sports facilities. If it can work for Detroit, where can't it work?
Sweet. We can get some Detroit bashing and some Houston bashing all in one thread.
wtf? I hit the link about Joel Kotkin on elitist efforts to destroy americans standard of living and i get RUMSFELD
Houston is pretty great.