This feels useful for when I advocate land value tax and someone asks me about farmers. I usually say "well this can be implemented at the local level and farming communities don't have to do it if they don't want to", at least about the US.
But I'm also thinking "this matters much more in urban areas where the land value is concentrated". And now I can just show people a picture.
Yes this is the whole point. Like who cares about the agricultural land — it’s the urban land that’s important. Let the cities opt in, the farmers will be fine.
The real power here isn't that land values cluster—any economist could tell you that. It's that once you make it visible like this, the intuitions shift fast. Most zoning and housing debates happen in the abstract, with people talking past each other about hypothetical density and abstract economics. But show someone a map where Manhattan's land value exceeds the entire Bronx, and suddenly the conversation changes. You've translated an idea into something that just looks obviously true. That's why visualization tools matter more than we usually credit. They're not just informative—they're persuasive in a way that forces you to stop hedging.
In NYC at least, the assessed value is a political/legal football and is complete garbage (the assessed value for my condo is around a fifth of the actual price I paid for it). Instead, you should look at recent transactions. All NYC property transactions are public record going back a while and very easily available through ACRIS. They include the date, address, price paid, mortgage amount, etc... and should be much more reliable.
(looking at maps)
(itsbeautiful.zoolander.gif)
This feels useful for when I advocate land value tax and someone asks me about farmers. I usually say "well this can be implemented at the local level and farming communities don't have to do it if they don't want to", at least about the US.
But I'm also thinking "this matters much more in urban areas where the land value is concentrated". And now I can just show people a picture.
Yes this is the whole point. Like who cares about the agricultural land — it’s the urban land that’s important. Let the cities opt in, the farmers will be fine.
Thank you for the kind and detailed explanation of the features
The real power here isn't that land values cluster—any economist could tell you that. It's that once you make it visible like this, the intuitions shift fast. Most zoning and housing debates happen in the abstract, with people talking past each other about hypothetical density and abstract economics. But show someone a map where Manhattan's land value exceeds the entire Bronx, and suddenly the conversation changes. You've translated an idea into something that just looks obviously true. That's why visualization tools matter more than we usually credit. They're not just informative—they're persuasive in a way that forces you to stop hedging.
Hi,
In NYC at least, the assessed value is a political/legal football and is complete garbage (the assessed value for my condo is around a fifth of the actual price I paid for it). Instead, you should look at recent transactions. All NYC property transactions are public record going back a while and very easily available through ACRIS. They include the date, address, price paid, mortgage amount, etc... and should be much more reliable.
I appreciate that! We do call that out in the article, and the method you suggest is something we’re looking towards implementing soon
Yep. Nice!