Jason M. Barr

Coming May 14 my latest book ***Cities in the Sky*** Pre-order now. simonandschuster.com/books/Cities-i… #citiesintheskybook #skyscrapers #cities #mythbusting

@AndyCarnevale @arpitrage buildingtheskyline.org/reclamation-2/

@arpitrage @JasonBarrRU 's Manhattan Extension plan, but for Mumbai jasonmbarr.com/manhattan-exte…

Mumbai has to have the most people living on reclaimed land anywhere in the world?

It’s now time to start building New Mannahatta in the Hudson River. Get the bulldozers rolling for 250,000 new homes.

@PhilSustainable Great idea!

🎄 All I want for Christmas is for NYC to make it easier to build new housing by loosening antiquated zoning restrictions. Feat @JasonBarrRU, @jamiesrubin, @ReynosoBrooklyn, and @sandlerm.

This graph helps to understand #housing #AffordabilityCrisis in #NYC. The # of rental units peaked in 1971; NYC did not surpass that # till 2011! In 2023, NYC only had 13% more rental units than 1965!

@jmassengale @floor_per_area That's the areas with built FARs 4+. The 101.62 is likely an error with the measured lot area. 99% of built FARs before 1961 were 6 or less.

@JasonBarrRU @floor_per_area Thank you. I don’t understand the blue category.

It's worth remembering: #NYC is a "3-story city": 92% of all residential structures are 3 stories or less.

@jmassengale @floor_per_area Here's a very quick map of built FARs from the PLUTO file for structures built before 1962. (Note that 78% of all NYC buildings were built before 1962) (only 7.5% were built since 2000)

@floor_per_area @JasonBarrRU Can you figure out existing FAR by block and building lot before 1961? thanks

Some times history takes a vastly different direction because someone changes their mind. This is the case with the #EmpireStateBuilding. Check out my article (from June). gothamcenter.org/blog/secretman…

Since the mid-1980s, historians have known that the Home Insurance Building in #Chicago was not the first #skyscraper. Yet the public hasn't gotten the message. Why the disconnect? The answer is in my latest pub. in the J. of Urban History. doi.org/10.1177/009614…

Minneapolis built more housing than any other major Midwest city & it’s not a mystery why. They allowed modest density housing types city-wide, cut regressive parking mandates, and made it easier to build apartments near transit. The results: more homes + slowed rent growth.

Is there a way for #NewYorkCity to reform its property taxes to make the system both fairer and more efficient? Check out my latest #Skynomics Blog post with @ronanlyons. buildingtheskyline.org/lvt-nyc/#

Gotham’s current real estate tax system is widely considered unfair and inefficient. Can the City switch to a Land Value Tax to increase fairness and to stimulate economic growth? Check out my latest #Skynomics Blog post with @ronanlyons buildingtheskyline.org/lvt-nyc/

Who in NYC would pay more in property tax and who would pay less, if the city switched to 'the fairest of them all'? Something for those in the Big Apple to mull as they head to the polls...

A thought-provoking piece by @urbenschneider on the need for "missing massive" housing. benjaminschneider.substack.com/p/missing-mass… cc @JasonBarrRU

Looking to understand why #skyscrapers have become such an important element in global urbanism? In my 2024 book #CitiesintheSkyBook (Scribner Books), I explain what's happening. Check it out... citiesintheskybook.com

Is Public Housing good or bad? In my latest #Skynomics blog post, I review recent research and writing about Public Housing. buildingtheskyline.org/public-housing…