With market pressures pushing landowners in London to build pricey new flats, local music venues are getting the boot; but does this make sense economically?
Given that over one-third of London's "grassroots music venues" have shuttered since 2007, CityMetric’s Shain Shapiro sat down to do the math on what exactly cities lose when their music venues close. Doing the complicated math based on best guestimates, Shapiro sits down with a friend, who happens to own a music venue in the London borough of Hackney, to see what the economic return would be if the property was redeveloped with four flats.
"Using our iPhone calculators, we tallied up that his venue contributes £694,000 to the local economy each year, outside of its independent takings as a business. Include those, and the amount rises to £1.3m.
Furthermore, this venue employs 12 people at the London living wage. In total, this venue is worth, theoretically speaking, as much as £2m a year to the local and national economy."
The property owner developing the property could expect approximately £2m in the sale of the units—but as Shapiro points out, that is a one-time profit, "not something that will be pumped into the economy year after year." The side benefits of attracting people to the neighborhood include support for local restaurants and infrastructure (through transit fees).
Further, there is the non-quantifiable value of having a music venue (or art venue, theatre, etc.) in the neighborhood. The current sales price of the flats reflects the value of having entertainment venues in the neighborhood, creating an attractive environment to live. Without those venues, would the value of the flats be as high?
FULL STORY: Are music venues as valuable as houses – and can we prove it?
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
The Paradox of American Housing
How the tension between housing as an asset and as an essential good keeps the supply inadequate and costs high.
Report: Las Vegas, Houston Top List of Least Affordable Cities
The report assesses the availability of affordable rental units for low-income households.
Anchorage Leaders Debate Zoning Reform Plan
Last year, the city produced the fewest new housing units in a decade.
How to Protect Pedestrians With Disabilities
Public agencies don’t track traffic deaths and injuries involving disabled people, leaving a gap in data to guide safety interventions.
Colorado Town Fills Workforce Housing Need With ‘Dorm-Style’ Housing
Median rent in Steamboat Springs is $4,000 per month.
City of Yakima
City of Auburn
Baylands Development Inc.
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.