Category Archives: Housing

The Rent Is Too Damn High

Posted on December 9, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Or, if you prefer, affordable housing is now an upper-middle class problem. Not a gentry class problem, but definitely one for the upper-middle class. Consider the median D.C. household income–which is pretty good compared to many places!–of $77,686. Affordable housing, … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Housing | 2 Comments

I’m Thankful That Amazon Didn’t Come To D.C.

Posted on November 22, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Last week, when Amazon decided to set up sorta-kinda-headquarters in Crystal City and in Long Island City, NY, I was glad D.C. wasn’t going to waste any money on enriching the wealthiest man in the world. Given how Crystal City, … Continue reading →

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Climate Change And Disasters

Posted on November 21, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Over the last few years, every time there is a large scale climate-related catastrophe, there are renewed calls to do something (e.g., the Malibu inferno). But all of the proposals miss something important. Here’s a Vox summary of the Green … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Global Warming, Housing, Transportation | Comments Off on Climate Change And Disasters

DOPA And The Classic D.C. Governance Problem

Posted on November 18, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

And by D.C. I mean the local government, not Wor-Shing-Tun. D.C. has the habit of passing excellent laws, and then neither funding nor enforcing them–that would be hard, and make people uncomfortable! Case in point, DOPA (boldface mine): D.C. Mayor … Continue reading →

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Don’t Think The Trumps Were The Only Landlords To Screw Their Renters

Posted on October 3, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Yesterday, the NY Times published a bombshell story describing in great detail how much of Il Trumpe’s fortune was built on his father’s wealth and tax fraud. This part makes you think (boldface mine): One of the first steps came … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness, Housing, The Rule of Law | 1 Comment

Tariffs Are Hurting YIMBYs

Posted on July 29, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

While I’m not a full-throttled YIMBY (though, increasingly, NIMBY idiocy is pushing me in that direction), once a building has been approved, we should have it be built to the approved height–we do need the housing. But this is a … Continue reading →

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Mistaking Bidding Up With Gentrification

Posted on July 12, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

There’s an interesting article asking if D.C.’s Adams-Morgan is losing diversity, which is a polite way of saying ‘forcing out brown and black people’, due to gentrification. It unusually for the genre, doesn’t confuse gentrification with bidding up. Here’s what … Continue reading →

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Boston’s Swanktuaries

Posted on May 28, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

When I lived in Boston, there were some very nice high end places, but global capital wasn’t using Boston residential real estate as a piggy bank. Things, apparently, have changed (boldface mine): The bottom 24 floors of One Dalton will … Continue reading →

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Suburban People In City Spaces

Posted on May 4, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

While I’m trying to find the time to look at the 2016 census data for D.C. (and what that means for housing, density, and so on), there’s a vague thought rattling around in my noggin about a critical element of … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, Urban Planning | 1 Comment

When It Comes To Density, We’re Asking Too Little Area To Do Too Much

Posted on April 29, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

There’s a very interesting interview with Chris Leinberger, a real estate developer and chair of the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis at the George Washington University School of Business, about the insufficient amount of ‘urban neighborhoods’ (boldface mine): … Continue reading →

Posted in DC, Housing, Urban Planning | 1 Comment