We think of the movements of high-tech firms as illustrative of totally new phenomena but it resonates as well with earlier industrial history. The “gilded age” of America, when industries expanded rapidly, produced a growing appetite for labor. Automation in production also expanded output and revenue, but also a growing need for workers. read more »
New York
Amazon, Google, Apple and the Late Capitalism Blues
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The View from Hudson Street—With Thoughts on Science and Orthodoxy
Two audacious quotes in planning literature underpin this article and substitute for an introduction: read more »
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Jeff Bezos Is Right at Home in the D.C. Swamp, but Amazon Might Have Bit Off More Than It Can Chew with the Big Apple
It turns out that tech oligarchs aren’t much better than old dogs at learning new tricks. By splitting his much coveted supposed second headquarters between New York City and greater Washington D.C., Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is repeating what worked for him in Seattle while saying “yes, sir” to power. read more »
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The Other Side of the Superstar Effect
A couple of folks had interesting counterpoints to the superstar effect. Neil Strickland gave me permission to post the following email he sent: read more »
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Superstar Effect Wins Again as Amazon Chooses New York, Washington for HQ2/3
Amazon, obviously embarrassed at the way their HQ2 process has been received, leaked the results of the competition the night before Election Day, ensuring coverage will be largely muted.
Amazon has reportedly decided to split HQ2 between two locations, New York City (Long Island City, Queens) and Washington (Crystal City, VA). read more »
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San Francisco Is Eating New York
A lot has been written about how the internet undermined and destroyed media. What we are seeing today may be the more important story, however, which is the tech industry is explicitly buying out the media, particular culture making elite media institutions. read more »
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New York’s Tech Sector Gobbling Up Real Estate
Google, which already owns a gigantic building in Manhattan, is buying Chelsea Market for $2.4 billion. The NYT article about this gives some insight into the very strong growth of the tech sector in NYC. read more »
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Metropolitan New York and San Jose: Highest Property Tax Burdens
This article examines median residential property tax levels and rates among the nation’s 53 major metropolitan areas (over 1,000,000 population). The data is from the 2016 American Community Survey and is self reported by consumer respondents (not from governments or public records). read more »
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Cronyism on an Industrial Scale to Blame for Inflated New York Subway Costs
Just before year end, the New York Times dropped a bombshell report on what they term “the most expensive mile of subway on earth.”
An extensive investigation by the Times finally starts to get at the heart of why construction costs on the New York subway are vastly higher than anywhere else in the world. read more »
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Bringing Soviet Planning to New York City
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to bring the same policies that worked so well in the Soviet Union, and more recently in Venezuela, to New York City. “If I had my druthers, the city government would determine every single plot of land, how development would proceed,” he says. “And there would be very stringent requirements around income levels and rents.” read more »