Comment 28545

By A Smith (anonymous) | Posted February 09, 2009 at 00:21:03

LL, >> Now you're saying that consumer choice justifies an obvious qualitative degeneration.

Yes, of course it does. People have limited funds and they all make purchases that maximize the total utility of those funds. Therefore, if some people love living in a high quality building, these people will consume less of other goods, like electronics, cars, etc. However, if other people simply want a clean, functional living space, so they can spend money elsewhere, what is wrong with that?

If you mandate that everyone live in high design buildings, this forces people to spend money where they don't want to and you slow the development of new businesses that will drive progress in other areas of people's lives.

>> Secondly, urban planning in Hamilton IS top-down. DeSantis, Losani, etc. - the development corporations that politically *control* urban planning in Hamilton - are all organizations with top-down decision making processes

Abolish zoning laws, period.

>> Civic life in the times of Gothic and Baroque - when the gorgeous (and energy efficient) city centres of Europe were created - was largely controlled by guilds, which were proto-democratic organizations, much less top-down than today's corporations

The consumer has the money and therefore, in a world without zoning laws, decides which developments are successful and which ones are not. If you believe that Gothic and Baroque styled buildings are what consumers want and you are correct, why not become a developer? I am serious. If you can build high quality homes at a competitive price, then you will win the battle for the consumer.

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