
Houston’s Mini-Kaihatsu, Sinking False Alarm, and more
by Tory Gattis — Houston's reported rate of sinking may be a false alarm in terms of the city actually disappearing below sea level, and a new book notes similarities between Tokyo's mini-kaihatsu and Houston's townhouse developments.

Silliness of Induced Demand Arguments, NZ MUD Troubles, and more
by Tory Gattis — On the silliness of the induced demand anti-freeway-expansion argument; taxpayers *want* government to invest in infrastructure where there is demand!

Ultimate Agglomeration Diseconomy: The Standard of Living
Wendell Cox — It is hard to imagine a more destructive agglomeration effect than reducing the standard of living. Yet this is what the loss of housing affordability does.

With Low Ridership, Should Metro’s Excess Cash Pile Go To Flood Control?
by Tory Gattis — In spite of ridership being cut in half due to Covid, Metro's financial position became stronger than ever due to a huge influx of federal grants, a total of $714 million in Covid relief in 2020 and 2021. Should this excess go to flood control?

Demographia International Housing Affordability – 2022 Edition Released
Demographia International Housing Affordability rates middle-income housing affordability in 92 major housing markets in eight nations: Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States). This edition covers the third quarter (September quarter) of 2021.

Road Subsidies, Challenging Parking Minimums, and Wage Growth
by Tory Gattis — Houston #3 for wage growth in the last year, maybe around the goldilocks zone of not too low or too high (which drives inflation).

HCTRA Annual Report Shows Impact of COVID and Toll Diversions
by Tory Gattis, with data from Oscar Slotboom — The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) fiscal year 2021 annual financial report shows impact of COVID, but it had a strong financial position prior to COVID, and easily handled the financial setback.

Green Jim Crow
by Jennifer Hernandez — The daughter and granddaughter of steelworkers, I grew up in Pittsburg, California, a gritty industrial town on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area, with a significant Latino and Black workforce. That California no longer exists.

Texas and Houston Growth Secret, Texas Miracle is More than Oil
by Tory Gattis — Going beyond all the usual reasons given for Texas' high growth, here's the technical overlooked one that I think is a big key: Texas does not allow unincorporated counties to regulate land use (i.e. create zoning), which creates pretty much a totally free market in development just outside cities.

Texas Startup Manifesto 2.0, Houston housing elasticity, remote work reshaping America, and more
by Tory Gattis — How does the Houston housing market achieve elasticity? Less regulation. The city famously lacks a zoning code, and many of its suburbs are also very pro-growth.