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And Seattle has like one-tenth to one-fifth of the population of NYC or LA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chicago60614
Here are building permits issued through October of this year for some main US cities. This isn't by metro area, only cities, so obviously it's not counting growing suburban areas or taking into account some cities are massive and some have very small footprints.
NYC: 12,275 8.34 million
Los Angeles: 11,774 3.86 million Seattle: 8,660 0.64 million
Houston: 8,453 2.16 million
Chicago: 8,200 2.71 million
Atlanta: 7,072 0.43 million
Dallas: 6,195 1.24 million
Denver: 5,949 0.63 million
Phoenix: 5,323 1.49 million
Washington DC: 4,300 0.63 million
And Seattle has like one-tenth to one-fifth of the population of NYC or LA.
Same for Atlanta, but I think city limit size is a better measurement for how well a city could densify over the next few years. Seattle is probably even more impressive in that regard along with Atlanta.
Much of Seattle's growth capacity has been filled in the last 30 years. The Census estimate for 1986 had us at 486,000, and it'll be around 700,000 for 2016. That takes is from 5,800 per square mile to 8,340 per square mile. The growth was slow for a while then got really fast in this decade especially.
From here it'll get progressively harder. Only about 15% of Seattle is zoned for high density, with 65% (or so I've heard) being single-family only with little chance of significant changes. The 15% has quite a bit of capacity remaining but the eager sellers and easy sites have mostly sold. On the positive side the 15% is starting to get truly urban in some cases.
Boston updated by the BPDA (Bldg Dept) overlords;
(When you add the mechanical floors, which Boston doesn't do on the tall stuff until after the towers are completed out of fear of a panic) 1 Dalton will be ~760', Govt Ctr Garage office ~650', parcel 15 ~620'),
This is a very recent picture of Seattle, if you're fortunate enough to have good vision then you'll spot 19 construction cranes in the image (from left to right). With the flurry of activity in the Seattle core, the state of Washington really should consider adopting the crane as their designated state bird.
Vancouver began imposing a 15% tax on foreign buyers this year. I think some American cities should consider doing the same.
Why? Just build more. Population growth is good for cities. Immigration is good for cities. Globalization is good for cities. It isn't foreign buyers driving prices up--it is insufficient construction.
Since 2011 or so, greater Downtown Seattle has had 19 buildings 398' to 660' tall break ground. Three more have announced that preliminary work will start this month.
For Seattle, in terms of infrastructure, the current pace of construction simply isn't sustainable. If you think the traffic is bad now, consider they have at least 44 towers proposed, approved, or under-construction...
now, most buildings are in the 400~550' range..... still, that's pretty impressive. ...but planners may face a backlash for allowing Seattle to grow at the same pace as California.
Last edited by odurandina; 01-04-2017 at 12:45 AM..
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