Tuesday Afternoon Thinkage

The Houston Chronicle has an interesting piece about local urban theorist Joel Kotkin and his appreciation for vibrant, suburban sprawl and something called an "opportunity zone." In a piece that gets more disturbing the more you read - we had to stop for a glass of water at one point - Kotkin and the opinion writer identify the need for money to go to more roads with greater capacity in lieu of mass transit, as a way to foster more jobs and more affordable housing. The article also takes aim at zoning and planners. Zoning is identified as a cause of high housing costs and a lack of commercial competition. The article goes on to warn against "creeping government control" through the use of zoning wielded by bureaucrats. It's every man for himself in Houston and they're happy about it. So we ask, should LA stop planning and just let the market decide how and where we grow? Are our Specific Plans, Design Overlays and zoning code stifling competition? And finally, can someone please eminent domain Joel Kotkin's home for a parking lot.
· BLOOMTOWN HOUSTON [Houston Chronicle]