> Sounds interesting, However, i worry about policies driven from
> preferences such as these. Seems to me they would put upward pressure
> on housing costs, rental as well as ownership, in Moscow as well as
> some of the smaller communities. The last time I read there were
> approximately 70 families on the waiting list for IHA housing
> subsidies in Latah County. (These are not students by the way.)
There is no question that controlling growth makes (keeps) a community
a more desireable place to live and may increase housing and
rental costs. But what is the alternative? We can allow unbridled
development as has happened elsewhere (Phoenix,Houston,Denver) or
in Idaho (Couer d'Alene,Post Falls). Lessons learned elsewhere
indicate that real estate prices don't soften until
there is extensive over-development. Over-development and sprawl
create a less desireable place and do eventually soften real estate and
rental prices. But why must we be slaves to the boom and bust cycles
of development and the whims of the market? Why not recognize
that there is no free lunch and that if we want to maintain a high
quality, less crowded lifestyle, that we are going to have to pay
more for it? Moscow has been discovered and it is (still) a
desireable place to live. The choice is *not* between an expensive
vs. inexpensive living environment--increased development will not
soften prices that much. The barn door is open. The real choice is
between how crowded and degraded we want our expensive living
environment to become.
> Greg has a point, the idea that we are "reshuffling populations"
> seems rather odd. Though perhaps that is only from the perspective
> of those of us that live in Moscow.
> Greg, who exactly did the survey and are there any short summarizations
> from the data?
I have done some limited analysis of the data. If I can find the
time, I will post some of the tentative results.
-- Greg Brown gregb@uidaho.edu http://www.uidaho.edu/~gregb Computer Services Moscow, ID 83843 University of Idaho (208) 885-2126