Knowledge is more important than space
Harvard economist Edward Glaeser spoke to the Congress for the New Urbanism about “the enormous value of having people close together” on June 3rd.
More than one thousand people attended the 19th annual CNU in Madison, Wisconsin.
Glaeser, author of Triumph of the City, noted that many cities were given up for good in the 1970s. They came back, in large part, because “knowledge is more important than space; that is the city writ small.”
Smart people get smarter when they are around other smart people said Glaeser. That is why technology has not driven people farther apart, as many prophets predicted 30 years ago.
Cities are also a key to dealing with global warming, Glaeser added, especially in the developing world. “India and China – that’s the real battlefield. These are the places where building up can make the most the difference in greenhouse gas emissions.”
Many suburbs were built “heedless of the environmental consequences.” Some of the construction of suburbs can be attributed to housing policies – specifically the home mortgage interest deductions and enormous federal investment in highways. The benefits of the home mortgage dedications go mostly to the wealthy and encourage people to build larger houses further apart.
According to Glaeser, the US must rethink its “fetish for subsidy of home ownership and subsidy of highways.” However, we need to be sophisticated in our investment in rail systems, particularly high-speed rail. Glaeser believes there are substantial productive investments that can be made in the northeast corridor. In other areas it is less obvious how the benefits would outweigh the costs in high-speed rail construction.
Glaeser also told the group that there is an enormously robust positive relationship between wealth and density. He opposes restrictions on density saying it raises the cost of home ownership.
In his closing remarks, Glaeser added “the mission of CNU is more important than ever.”
