Myth of the 20th Century: Suburban Redevelopment – The Growth Ponzi Scheme

Ever since the Great Recession and financial crisis of the late 2000s, the American economic model of building large suburban housing developments with cheap credit and sometimes even cheaper building materials and standards has been called into question. Setting aside all the jobs generated in construction, banking, and other financial intermediation, municipal governments also depend on growth for taxes to pay for not just future development, but often times previous build out phases that did not meet their financial projections. With recent examples of cities such as Jackson, Mississippi and Flint, Michigan failing to cover the maintenance costs of their municipal drinking water, this financial crisis has turned into a health crisis. Tonight, I am joined by returning guest Dark Enlightenment to examine just how widespread these problems are, and potential strategies for getting you and your family away from them.

— Brought to you by —

very special guest Dark Enlightenment

— References —
– The Last Valley, Clavell (1971)
– The Growth Ponzi Scheme, Marohn (2011) – https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/
– Return on investment for government projects, Adam Smith Institute (2012) – https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/tax-spending/return-on-investment-for-government-projects
– Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Piketty (2013)
– The Highest Return on Investment for your City is not Where you Think, Quednau (2017) – https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/5/10/highest-return-on-investment-city-not-where-you-think
– San Francisco – where drug addicts outnumber high school students, Matier (2019) – https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/philmatier/article/San-Francisco-where-street-addicts-outnumber-13571702.php
– Return on Investment: Transportation Projects Can More than Pay for Themselves in Benefits, Glover (2021) – https://ciitr.tti.tamu.edu/2021/02/23/return-on-investment-transportation-projects-can-more-than-pay-for-themselves-in-benefits/
– A Letter from Joe Minicozzi, Minicozzi (2022) – https://www.urbanthree.com/blog/a-letter-from-joe-minicozzi/