Harvard economist Edward Glaeser has joined the Antiplanner’s effort to rehabilitate Houston in the public mind. Writing in the New York Sun, Glaeser notes that the Houston metro area is growing 7 times faster than the New York metro area, mainly because Houston is far more affordable.
“Consider an average American family,” says Glaeser, “with aspirations to a middle-class lifestyle. What kind of life will such people lead in Houston and New York City?” He answers that they will earn perhaps 15 percent less in Houston. But New York housing, even on Staten Island, costs twice as much as in Houston for a lower-quality product. Taxes are also lower in Texas.
