The Big City Where Housing Is Still Affordable

It will be impossible for most cities to try and emulate this one. In most cities it could take years to fill a pot hole or fix an escalator at the airport. I once watched a renovation and a fresh up of an area of about 250 SQ/FT (tile, paint) take 3 years to complete. They actually closed one of two entrances to the Subway for 3 years to do a job that two guys could do in a weekend (Runnymede Subway Station, Toronto Ontario). It took so long a lawyer friend actually wrote a letter to the TTC and City asking what happened and why is it taking so long? They couldn't answer, they basically said it is very complicated. Can you imagine such a dysfunctional city trying to build itself out? It is like this all over Canada.

TLDR: Tokyo.

In the past half century, by investing in transit and allowing development, the city has added more housing units than the total number of units in New York City. It has remained affordable by becoming the world’s largest city. It has become the world’s largest city by remaining affordable.

Two full-time workers earning Tokyo’s minimum wage can comfortably afford the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in six of the city’s 23 wards. By contrast, two people working minimum-wage jobs cannot afford the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in any of the 23 counties in the New York metropolitan area.

My sense is that certain forces in NY are happy to drive costs up to make it a true city for the wealthy. And at the same time, the mayor - who seems like a closet Republican based on policy, attitude toward free press, corruption, victim rhetoric, etc. - keeps cutting government services except police, which arguably are there to protect the wealthy.

The congestion pricing - restricting certain roads to people who can afford it - is a straightforward example. (Yes, I know it helps climate change and other issues to reduce car traffic - but it doesn't help to maintain rich people's car traffic).