Gentrification, of urban neighborhoods, 117
Goals, of individuals vs. communities, 40–41
Goland, Carol, 84
Gold reserves, 94
Gold standard, as basis for trade, 90
Government debt, 96–100
Government policies, prioritizing traffic, 29
Great Depression, 87–89, 191
The Great Inversion and the Future of the American City (Ehrenhalt), 116
Great Society, 93
Growth: economic stability and focus on, 100–102
in municipalities, 50–57
as objective of local governments, 176
wealth vs., 102–104
H
Haidt, Jonathan, 208, 209, 215
Hardship, response to, 172–174
Hasidic Judaism, 213–214, 217
Hemingway, Ernest, 4
Henwood, Doug, 79
Hierarchies, in local government, 174–176
Highland neighborhood (Shreveport, Louisiana), 220
Highland Park (Shreveport, Louisiana), 220
High land values, 27–30
High Point, North Carolina, 161
Highway bypass corridor, 134–138
Hollander, Justin B., 8, 9
Homeless shelters, xi
Homes, changing, 20
Hoover, Herbert, 87
Horizontal expansion, in California, 197
Housing: in California, 197–198
post-war changes in, 92
preference for single-family, 144–145
Housing authority, 178t
How to Live in a World We Don't Understand (Taleb), 59
Human habitats, 1–14 as complex, adaptive systems, 3–4
in North America, 1–3
spooky wisdom in, 5–10
as systems that are complicated, 11–14
Hunter-gatherer existence, 58
Hurricane Katrina, 102–103
Hurricane Rita, 102–103
I
Illusion of Wealth: and constant maintenance, 152
human response to, 57–60
Illusion of Wealth phase of development, 143
Improvement to Land (I/L) Ratio, 25, 25f, 117
Improvement value, 23–25, 25f
Incentives, to fix problems, 113
Income taxes, 72
Incremental changes, implementing, 122–123, 156–157
Incremental growth, 15–35 and complex, adaptive systems, 168
complex vs. complicated buildings in, 20–23
constraints on, 164
and founding of cities, 15–20
good and bad development in, 34–35
and high land values, 27–30
and neighborhood renewal, 23–27
private and public investment in, 30–34
in traditional habitat development, 2
Infill projects, 160
Infrastructure, 63–81 accounting for, 70–71
and American Society of Civil Engineers, 65–67
calculating returns on investment for, 67–69
Congressional Budget Office on, 78–80
development of, 30–34
as investment, 41–42
in modern development, 32
and municipalities, 44–50
perception of need for more, 63–65
ratio of private to public investment in, 129–130
real return on investment, 74–78
secondary effects of, 72–74
Infrastructure Cult: development of, 65–67
paper returns calculated by, 69
Insolvency, 187–192
Interstate highway system, 92
Investment(s), 147–170 barbell investment approach, 148–150
capital, 171–172
conventional vs. strong towns thinking about, 185–186, 186t
in filling gaps in cities, 160–163
impact of regulations on, 194
infrastructure as, 41–42
little bets, 150–160
low-risk investments with steady returns, 150–155
prudent constraints for, 164–168
public and private, 30–34, 31f, 32f
returns on, see Return on investment
in Suburban Retrofit, 168–169
Italy, walking in, 203–204
J
Jacobs, Jane, 8, 101–102
Japan, 76
Jimmy's Pizza, 161–162
Job creation, 49, 72–73
Johnson, Neil, 12, 13
Junger, Sebastian, 216–217
K
Keynes, John Maynard, 88
Keynesian economic policies, 88
Krugman, Paul, 63, 78
Kunstler, James, 110–111
L
Lafayette, Louisiana, 101, 141–144, 151
Landau, Moshe, 213–214, 217
Land value: in declining suburbs, 113
and interstate highway project, 92
and neighborhood renewal, 23–25, 25f
in neighborhoods with different types of properties, 165–167, 165f, 166f
and suburban development, 27–30
Learning, from previous local investments, 187
Legacy programs, 173
Lifestyle choices, 202, 205–206
“Lifestyle enclaves,” 208
Little bets, 16–18, 150–160
Local economy: as basis for national economy, 101–102
national vs., 103
Local government: changes in, to maintain economic stability, 105–106
debt taken on by, 113–114
funded by state government, 95
impact of infrastructure on, 79–80
profit run by, 37–38, 147
relationship of state and, 198
Long declines, 110–115
“Long emergency,” 110–111
Long Recession of the 1870s, 77
Los Angeles, California, xi
Lovable places, 10
Low-risk investments, with steady returns, 150–155
Lydon, Mike, 158
M
Maintenance: ability to keep up with, 109
cash-flow debt to cover, 188–192, 188f–190f
of development projects, 52–57
of infrastructure, 46–49
need for constant, 151–154
in place-oriented government, 180–183
required for single-family homes, 112
Maintenance department, 179t
Manhattan, New York, 24
Martenson, Chris, 108
Meaning, life of, 212–218
Middle class, 92, 93, 144–145
Milan, Italy, 164
Mills Fleet Farm, 134–137
Minicozzi, Joseph, 138–140, 161
“Minnesota Miracle,” 95
Mixed-use neighborhoods, 163, 169
Modern city development: as high-risk investments, 149
as lead by pubic investment, 34–35
productive places in, 131–134
Modern Monetary Theory, 99
Mortgages, during Great Depression, 88–89
Mouzon, Steve, 10, 113
Muskegon, Michigan, 161
N
National Association of Home Builders, 136
National economy, local vs., 103
Natural disasters, 102–103
Neighborhoods: abandonment of, 109–110
built to finished states, 21–23
changing in post-war era, 92–93
community living in, 202–203
decline of, 113
gentrification of urban, 117
mixed-use, 163, 169
renewal of, and incremental growth, 23–27
responses to improvements in, 158
structured around religions, 214
in transition sections of Detroit, 118
Neighbors, being involved with, 202–203
New Deal economics, 87–88
New Orleans, Louisiana, 102, 182
>
Nixon, Richard, 94
Noncritical systems, 182
O
Oak Cliff neighborhood (Dallas, Texas), 159
Obama, Barack, 63
Obesity, among Pacific Islanders, 58–59
Options Real Estate, 160
Orange County, California, xi–xii
Order, chaos vs., 121–122
The Original Green (Mouzon), 10, 113
Oroville dam (California), 182
Oswego, New York, 152
Oswego Renaissance Association, 152
P
Pacific Islanders, 58–59, 183–185
Paper returns on investment, 67–69
Paradox of Avarice, 104
Paradox of Thrift, 88, 104
Pareidolia, 8–9, 9f
Parks department, 178t
Party analogy, 34–35
A Pattern Language (Alexander), 8
Pension funds, 56–57, 70, 98
Pequot Lakes, Minnesota, 44–46
Perception, of need for more infrastructure, 63–65
Personal preferences, 144–145
Peru, 84
Place-oriented government, 171–198 and confirmation bias, 183–186
designed for efficiency, 174–176
focus on broad wealth creation by, 176–180
maintenance as priority for, 180–183
and regulations, 192–194
response to hardship by, 172–174
subsidiarity in, 195–198
understanding of debt by, 186–192
Political differences, 207
Pompeii, Italy, 5–10
Post-war boom: and economic stability, 91–93
modern city development established in, 12
Power, subsidiarity principle and, 196–198
Prayer of Saint Francis, 218
Prioritization, of maintenance, 180–183
Private development, 40
Private investment: private to public investment ratio, 129–130
public and, 30–34, 31f, 32f
Private sector (businesses): response to economic hardship in, 172–173
small, see Small businesses
Problem solving, 13–14
Productive places, 125–146 downtown vs. edge of town, 134–138
in past, 125–127
and personal preferences, 144–145
productivity calculations for, 128–130
return on investment, 141–144
traditional vs. modern development in, 131–134
value per acre, 138–141
Productivity, calculations of, 128–130
Project teams, 179–180
Property taxes, 49
Property value, 23–25, 25f
Public health, and walking neighborhoods, 205
Public investment: private and, 30–34, 31f, 32f
private to public investment ratio, 129–130
returns required for, 147
Public safety department, 179t
Q
Quality-of-life benefits, 187
Quantitative Easing, 99
R
Railroad companies, 77
Rational decision making, 107–123 about failing development systems, 115–120
about long declines, 110–115
within complex, adaptive system, 120–123
and lack of single solution, 107–110
Real return on investment, 74–78
Redevelopment, financial productivity after, 131–134, 139–140, 139t
Redundant systems, 182
ReForm Shreveport, 219, 220
Regulations: from place-oriented government, 192–194
and subsidiarity principle, 195–198
Repealing regulations, 192–193
Republican Party, 209
Request for proposal (RFP), 50
Residents, learning concerns of, 156–157
Resources: assumption of abundance of, 12–14
wasted, in modern development, 19
Retreats, strategic, 108–109
Return on investment, 141–144 calculating, for infrastructure, 67–69
for capital projects, 171–172
in cities, 44
and debt taken on by local governments, 187
low-risk investments with steady, 150–155
paper, 67–69
real, 74–78
social, 78–79
Revenues, and expenses, 41–44
RFP (request for proposal), 50
The Righteous Mind (Haidt), 208
Risk management strategies, 83–85
Roaring Twenties, 87
Roberts, Jason, 159
Roosevelt, Franklin, 87, 88
Rotary International, 203
S
St. Francis Catholic Church (Brainerd, Minnesota), 212–213
Sales tax, 49–50
Samuelson, Paul, 91
San Diego, California, 164–167
San Francisco, California, xi
Santa Ana, California, ix–xii
“Second ring” suburbs, 94
Sedlacek, Tomas, 104
Shovel-ready building sites, 32
Shreveport, Louisiana, 219–221
Sidewalk maintenance, 183, 203
Silos, in local government, 174–176
Simply Complexity (Johnson), 12
Sinclair, Upton, 50
Single-family housing, 144–145
Site-specific infrastructure, 130
Small businesses: importance of, in wealth creation, 162–163
productivity of, 133–134
Social return on investment, 78–79
Speck, Jeff, 206
Spooky wisdom: defining, 4
of farmers, 85
in human habitats, 5–10
in incremental growth of cities, 26
“Sprawl Repair,” 168
Stagflation, 94
State government: debt taken on by, 113–114
funding of local government by, 95
impact of infrastructure on, 79
limiting of municipal debt by, 191
relationship of local and, 197–198
Stewart, Paul, 152
Strategic retreats, 108–109
Strongest Town competition, 161
Strong Towns (organization), 226
Strong Towns movement, 225–226
Strong Towns Podcast, 152, 214–215
Subsidiarity principle, 195–198
Suburban development, 27–30 as growth, 100
urban infrastructure supporting, 114–115
Suburban Retrofit, 168–169
Summers, Lawrence, 63, 78
Sussman, Ann, 8, 9
Symmetry, 9
Systems: anti-fragile, 4, 6
cities as complicated, 11–14
complex, adaptive, see Complex, adaptive systems
critical, 182–183
fragile, 4
maintenance-free, 112–113
maintenance required to continue, 115
noncritical, 182
redundant, 182
T
Taco John's, 132–134
Tactical Urbanism, 158–159
Tactical Urbanism (Lydon and Garcia), 158
Taleb, Nassim, 4, 59, 120–121, 193
Taxation, 46–50
Tax subsidies, for redevelopment, 133–134
Team approach, in local governments, 175–176, 179–180
Temporal discounting, 57
Tents, 160–161
Thigmotaxis, 8
“Tiny homes,” 163
Traditional city development: as lead by private investment, 34
as low-risk investments, 149
productivity of, 131–134, 140–141
as series of little bets, 16–18
Transit coordinator, 178t–179t
Transit projects, 73–74
Transportation: human habitats build around, 1–3
in Santa Ana, California, xi–xii
Triage, 119–120
Tribe (Junger), 216
Trickle-down economics, 101
Trump, Donald, 63, 207
U
United States: development pattern in Costa Rica vs., 126–127
Urban3, 138, 140, 142, 161
U.S.dollar, as basis for trade, 90–91
Use-based codes, 193–194
V
Value: of infrastructure, 70
Value capture approach, 76–77
Value per acre analysis, 135, 138–144 determining productivity with, 138–142
of high-productivity neighborhoods, 150–151
for Lafayette, Louisiana, 141–144
and personal preferences, 144–145
of small businesses, 162
W
Walkability: “General Theory of Walkability,” 206
improving, in Shreveport, 220
Walkable City, How Downtown Can Save America One Step at a Time (Speck), 206
Walking: in communities, 203–206
finding gaps in cities by, 160
human habitats build around, 1, 2
in suburbs, 111–112
Walmart, financial productivity of, 139–140, 139t
Walt Disney Corporation, 151
Washington, George, 108
Watches, 11
Wealth: growth vs., 102–104
illusion of, 57–60
Wealth creation, in place-oriented government, 176–180, 177t–179t
White flight, 111
Why Liberalism Failed (Deneen), 211
Whyte, William “Holly,” 158
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