Overall, the value of American land is strikingly high. But it's the differences between and within cities that concern Florida.
In CityLab, Richard Florida unpacks a study finding that the total value of urban land in the United States is over $25 trillion—"more than double the nation's total economic output or GDP in 2006." And nearly half that value is concentrated in just five major metropolitan areas: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, D.C., and Chicago.
As Florida notes, central land is more valuable than "average" land within a city—a gap that is significantly wider in the top five cities. In other words, "central land tends to grow more valuable in larger metros," perhaps because "the high price of central urban land is a byproduct of the clustering of economic activity that defines the urban revival."
There's more detail at CityLab. The bottom line, for Florida, is that "the study confirms something that is becoming increasingly obvious: Economic inequality is bad, but spatial inequality is even worse."
FULL STORY: The Staggering Value of Urban Land
'The New Urban Crisis' and the High Line
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
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Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
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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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions