1、Urban landSpace and the city空间和都市城市土地Poor land use in the world's greatest cities carries a huge cost糟糕的土地利用方式已经成为世界大都市不能承受之重BUY land, advised Mark Twain; they're not making it any more. In fact, land is not really scarce: the entire population of America could fit int
2、o Texas with more than an acre for each household to enjoy. What drives prices skyward is a collision between rampant demand and limited supply in the great metropolises like London, Mumbai and New York. In the past ten years real prices in Hong Kong have risen by 150%
3、. Residential property in Mayfair, in central London, can go for as much as 55,000 (82,000) per square metre. A square mile of Manhattan residential property costs 16.5 billion.马克吐温曾建议说“都去买地吧”，但现在他们已经不这么做了。事实上，土地并非真的如此稀缺：仅一个德克萨斯州就能容纳整个美国人口，而且每户能有一英亩之多。在伦敦、孟买、纽约这种大都市里，地
4、价飞涨的现实是疯狂的需求和有限的供给共同作用的结果。在过去10年里，香港的房地产价格上涨了150%。伦敦中心的梅菲尔区的住宅价格能飙至55000英镑每平米（相当于82000美元）。曼哈顿，一平方英里的的住宅价格为165亿美元。Even in these great cities the scarcity is artificial. Regulatory limits on the height and density of buildings constrain supply and inflate prices. A recen
5、t analysis by academics at the London School of Economics estimates that land-use regulations in the West End of London inflate the price of office space by about 800%; in Milan and Paris the rules push up prices by around 300%. Most of the enormous value captured by l
6、andowners exists because it is well-nigh impossible to build new offices to compete those profits away.即便是在这样的城市里，稀缺性也是人为造成的。从法律层面上对建筑的高度和密度进行限制，降低了供给，也助推了房价。伦敦经济学院的一项最新学术分析表明，土地使用管理条例令伦敦西区办公用房的价格上涨了800%，令米兰和巴黎的上涨了约300%。巨额资产掌握在现有的土地所有者手中，因为在这里建新办公楼引入竞争、分享收益，是几乎不可能的事。Th
7、e costs of this misfiring property market are huge, mainly because of their effects on individuals. High housing prices force workers towards cheaper but less productive places. According to one study, employment in the Bay Area around San Francisco would be about five
8、 times larger than it is but for tight limits on construction. Tot up these costs in lost earnings and unrealised hum
