"The example of Tokyo should not be distorted to argue against the robust non-market provision of housing."
Has anyone used Tokyo to further that argument? I'm pretty familiar with the "YIMBY circles" you reference and all the major groups and people I know of want far more subsidized, non-market housing. They want all sorts of more housing, not just one particular type.
We essentially have two housing crises - one where people in poverty can't afford housing (i.e., our enormous homeless population) and one where even families bringing in decent incomes struggle to find housing in their budget. The YIMBY movement wants to tackle both crises and there are differing solutions for both, but both involve more housing (market and non-market).
Japan has lower median wages than the USA, but they have far less rates of homelessness than us. And if you zero in on American cities, it's often ones with lower poverty and unemployment rates (SF, Seattle, LA, NYC) but far more restrictive housing regulations that have higher homelessness than places with higher poverty rates. I think America could learn from Japan's example on housing that we should both have a more generous welfare state and repeal exclusionary zoning that exacerbates homelessness.
I think with Tokyo you also just have to appreciate how eco-friendly it is compared to US cities. Utilizing density and mass transit/walkability the way Tokyo does yields enormous environmental advantages and super low carbon-footprints. That alone is a great reason to emulate it. And it's not like it comes at a cultural or economic cost, like it's some gloomy Soviet urbanization - it's the arguably the most dynamic and exciting place on Earth - the biggest metropolitan area the world has ever seen! And the difficulty in getting prices affordable show how desirable it is that people want to live there.
"The example of Tokyo should not be distorted to argue against the robust non-market provision of housing."
Has anyone used Tokyo to further that argument? I'm pretty familiar with the "YIMBY circles" you reference and all the major groups and people I know of want far more subsidized, non-market housing. They want all sorts of more housing, not just one particular type.
We essentially have two housing crises - one where people in poverty can't afford housing (i.e., our enormous homeless population) and one where even families bringing in decent incomes struggle to find housing in their budget. The YIMBY movement wants to tackle both crises and there are differing solutions for both, but both involve more housing (market and non-market).
Japan has lower median wages than the USA, but they have far less rates of homelessness than us. And if you zero in on American cities, it's often ones with lower poverty and unemployment rates (SF, Seattle, LA, NYC) but far more restrictive housing regulations that have higher homelessness than places with higher poverty rates. I think America could learn from Japan's example on housing that we should both have a more generous welfare state and repeal exclusionary zoning that exacerbates homelessness.
I think with Tokyo you also just have to appreciate how eco-friendly it is compared to US cities. Utilizing density and mass transit/walkability the way Tokyo does yields enormous environmental advantages and super low carbon-footprints. That alone is a great reason to emulate it. And it's not like it comes at a cultural or economic cost, like it's some gloomy Soviet urbanization - it's the arguably the most dynamic and exciting place on Earth - the biggest metropolitan area the world has ever seen! And the difficulty in getting prices affordable show how desirable it is that people want to live there.