The following are posts about New York City real estate, past and present.
Frictions and the City: Housing Affordability and Redevelopment in New York (Part I)
Jason M. Barr June 13, 2022
Why is NYC housing so expensive? This blog post discusses the barriers to new housing construction in one neighborhood in the Bronx—the Norwood Section—to see why. Read More »
Frictions and the City: Housing Affordability and Redevelopment in New York (Part II)
Jason M. Barr August 31, 2022
Why is NYC housing so expensive? This blog post discusses the barriers to new housing construction in a suburban area of Queens—the Rosedale Section—to see why. Read More »
The Birth and Growth of Modern Zoning (Part I): From Utopia to FARtopia
Jason M. Barr May 11, 2021
Around the world, cities regulate building densities by limiting the floor area ratio (FAR)–the amount of allowable building area per square foot or meter of land. This post is Part I of a series on the birth and growth of this crucial planning tool and its origins from early 20th-century utopians. Read More »
The Birth and Growth of Modern Zoning (Part II): The FARsighted Great Depression
Jason M. Barr August 9, 2021
Around the world, cities regulate building densities by limiting the floor area ratio (FAR)–the amount of allowable building area per square foot or meter of land. This post is Part II of a series on the birth and growth of this crucial planning tool, with a focus on the birth of the FAR in New York City during the Great Depression. Read More »
The Birth and Growth of Modern Zoning (Part III): FAR and Wide
Jason M. Barr November 1, 2021
Around the world, cities regulate building densities by limiting the floor area ratio (FAR)–the amount of allowable building area per square foot or meter of land. This post is Part III of a series on the birth and growth of this crucial planning tool, with a focus on how the FAR spread across American in the 1940s. Read More »
Welcome to the FAR Dome: By How Much is Gotham Allowed to Grow?
Jason M. Barr January 31, 2022
1961 was a pivotal year in New York’s zoning history—it was the year that the city implemented the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to regulate building density citywide. How have changes in the zoning rules since then impacted New York’s ability to grow its housing stock, and has FAR caps contributed to the city’s housing affordability crises? This blog answers those questions. Read More »
New Yimby City: A Roundtable Q&A with Open New York (Part I)
Jason M. Barr April 5, 2021
The Skynomics Blog frequently discusses the issue of housing affordability in New York City. This post is a roundtable Q&A with four members of Open New York, a grassroots YIMBY organization seeking to promote more housing throughout the city. Read More »
New Yimby City: A Roundtable Q&A with Open New York (Part II)
Jason M. Barr April 19, 2021
The Skynomics Blog frequently discusses the issue of housing affordability in New York City. This post is Part II of roundtable Q&A with four members of Open New York, a grassroots YIMBY organization seeking to promote more housing throughout the city. Read More »
Six Policy Ideas for the Next Mayor of New York City
Jason M. Barr June 22, 2021
This year, New York City will be electing a new mayor. This blog post offers six bold policy ideas to improve housing affordability, transportation, and the quality of life. Read More »
No Vacancy? Why Housing Prices in New York City are So High
Jason M. Barr January 14, 2020
Rent regulations and limits on new construction in New York City increase housing prices. This blog post discusses the relationship between housing vacancy and affordability. In short, more housing equals less expensive housing. Read More »
The Value of Dirt: Introducing the Astor Index
Jason M. Barr September 3, 2019
At the time of his death in 1848, John Jacob Astor, America’s first millionaire, was one of Manhattan’s largest landholders. While dying, he expressed regret that he hadn’t bought even more land. This blog post introduces a new price index, called the Astor Index. It compares the prices of vacant land to those with buildings. What does the index reveal about Manhattan’s real estate market? Read more to find out…. »
The Bedrock Myth and the Rise of Midtown Manhattan (Part I)
Jason M. Barr July 29, 2019
A popular anecdote says that the shape of the Manhattan skyline is due to the accessibility of bedrock in Downtown and Midtown, but not in between. This story is false. It is what I call the Bedrock Myth, and is a classic example of confusing correlation with causation. This post discusses the real reasons for Manhattan’s peculiar skyline. Read More »
The Bedrock Myth and the Rise of Midtown Manhattan (Part II)
Jason M. Barr August 6, 2019
Why did Midtown Manhattan arise as the nation’s largest skyscraper district, and only three miles north of Downtown? The answer is not due to access to bedrock or because of Grand Central Station–these are just myths and misconceptions. This blog post chronicles the real reason for the birth of Midtown. Read More »
Revisiting 1916 (Part I): The History of New York City’s First Zoning Resolution
Jason M. Barr March 27, 2019
New York City’s giant Art Deco skyscrapers were the result of the 1916 New York City Zoning Resolution, which mandated that buildings be set back from the street as they rose taller, producing the so-called wedding cake style of architecture. This blog post discusses the history and thinking of the zoning reformers, who aimed to rein in the unregulated growth of a crowded metropolis. Read More »
Revisiting 1916 (Part II): The Economics of Population Density
Jason M. Barr April 10, 2019
In 1916, New York City enacted the first comprehensive zoning ordinance in the United States, which established regulations on building height and bulk. One of the aims of the reformers was to de-densify the city. This post reviews the economics of population density and compares it with the thinking of the time. Much has changed in the last century, and we need to reconsider how the 1916 rules laid down the path on which we currently walk. Read More »
Revisiting 1916 (Part III): New York’s First Zoning Resolution and the Roots of NIMBYism
Jason M. Barr April 30, 2019
Why is housing so expensive today? To answer this we need to go back to 1916, when New York City enacted the nation’s first comprehensive zoning ordinance. At the time, planners and city officials were attempting to impose order on a messy, congested city. But, unwittingly, they planted the seeds for today’s NIMBYism and housing affordability problems. Read More »
Skyscrapers and Shadows: The Value of Sunshine in the City
Jason M. Barr March 13, 2019
Humans, like all biological life forms, need sunlight to survive. The paradox of cities is that they help improve our well-being, yet they can also have the negative consequence of putting us in shadows. The newly developing field of “shadowology” measures how much of cities are covered in shadows and their impacts on urban life. We can use this information to make our cities work more efficiently. Read More »
Midnight Cowboys? New York City Housing Prices and Population Growth in the 21st Century
Jason M. Barr November 7, 2108
Since its inception in 1624, New York City has been home to countless strivers, who came to seek their fortunes. Yet, today, in the 21st century, the city’s expensive housing is acting as a barrier, keeping down it population and its economic growth. Read More »
The Manhattan Skyline during the Roaring Twenties
Jason M. Barr July 10, 2018
The Roaring Twenties remains a mythical time in American culture—an age of danger, of heroes, of unrestraint. During the period, Manhattan skyscrapers shot upwards to the heavens, and the world record for the tallest building was shattered three times in one year. From this, comes the belief that the rise of the skyline was due to the irrational euphoria of the age. This belief is wrong. Read More »
Name that Index! Land, Labor, or Capital?
Jason M. Barr February 20, 2018
One of the most pressing issues today is that of income inequality. What has been causing it to increase over the last few decades? To that end, we are going to play a game: Name that Index! Here we view the relative prices of different types of inputs–land, labor, and capital–over the long run and see what they suggest about our access to vital economic resources. The answers might surprise you. Read More »
Manhattan Profits (Part I): The Economics of the Superslim
By Jason M. Barr November 19, 2017
In the last decade, New York has seen a resurgence of skyscrapers. In particular, has been the rise of the superslims—super-tall, ultra-thin luxury apartment buildings. The definition of a superslim comes from the ratio of the building’s ground floor width to its height. The Empire State Building, for example, is relatively chunky, with a base-to-height ratio of 1:3. On the other hand, 432 Park Avenue has a slenderness ratio of 1:15; 53 West 53rd Street (the MoMA Tower) is 1:12; and 111 West 57th Street (the Steinway Tower), when completed, is to have a record-breaking ratio of 1:24. 1:10 is the benchmark for a slim tower. Why are so many being built? Read more…
Manhattan Profits (Part II): Return on Investment for a Superslim Skyscraper
By Jason M. Barr November 26, 2017
The Manhattan skyline was created by developers seeking their fortunes. Skyscraper heights, frequencies, types, and locations are based on the profits they generate. Today, the princes of height are the superslim luxury residential towers, such as 432 Park Avenue, 225 West 57th Street/Central Park Tower, and 111 West 57th Street/Steinway Tower. These towers, like all supertalls before them, are controversial. To understand a bit more about them, however, it might be of interest to play developer, and estimate the profits to constructing one. To do this I have created plans for a hypothetical 80-story superslim condo—the Barr Tower—on 57th Street. Read more.
Manhattan Profits (Part III): Are Superslims Good or Bad for New York?
Jason M. Barr January 15, 2018
In the last decade, New York has seen the emergence of a new skyscraper type—supertall, superslim, ultra-luxury residential condominiums. As discussed in previous posts, the combined forces of new technology and economic demand have made them profitable projects. However, they have attracted their share of controversy, riling up feelings of anger and frustration in certain quarters. Are they good or bad for New York City? Read More »