Urban Example

According to USA Today, Jersey City rules.

Once written off by the rest of the nation as another Rust Belt failure, Jersey City is now seen as instructional. --excerpt, USA Today

The article says that JC is an example of how a city can develop without sprawling into an unattractive parking lot filled with big-box stores. And that's a good point. JC is dense--the second-densest urban area in the US after neighboring Manhattan--so we don't have room for too much sprawl. We have a combination of new buildings going up, up, up and old buildings being rehabbed.

I live on Hamilton Park. It's a walkable, small-townish area. I don't even need a car here, though I am grateful to Henry the Ford Taurus for his assistance during my house-moving time. I sure need a car for that bit.

A lot of the article, like most articles touting the redevelopment of JC, reads as new development propaganda. My personal belief is that much as we pretend real estate never goes down, JC and NYC do not exist in a vaccuum. Housing downturns and mortgage instability take time to play out and the 8-10,000 new units going up will lead to an oversupply.

And that is fine by me. I don't need to live in Hipsterville. I'm happy with my small town by the big city. I'd be even happier if my local developers invested in green building and solar power.