Your City's Wealth Isn't Where You Think - eviltoast
  • blazera@kbin.social
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    11 months ago

    Ive seen NJB explaining density generating more revenue, but this is a bit of a different take. Higher income high density exists, and like in this image, lower density low income is a thing.

    The cost to the city is the same but the poor block is worth 78% more and, subsequently, pays 78% more taxes to the city, than the affluent block.

    Is really strange, i do not believe the pictured poor neighborhood pays more taxes than the pictured rich neighborhood. The dense downtown business area vs the wide open taco johns, sure, but not the residential comparison.

    • Magiccupcake@startrek.website
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      11 months ago

      A lot of strong towns framing uses “financial productivity” defined as tax revenue per unit area, usually acre. Poor neighborhood’s houses may be cheap, but are packed much more densely, leading to higher revenue per unit area. less in taxes per lot, but also lower maintenance costs per lot.

      • meyotch@slrpnk.net
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        11 months ago

        The efficiency and therefore cost of providing services is a big factor, which I think doesn’t occur to people unfamiliar with the formula Strong Towns uses to assess this. Multiply that higher efficiency by the higher lot density and that’s where the winning numbers come from.

      • blazera@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        The pictured neighborhood at least isnt that dense. Its still single family homes spaced apart. This whole density for revenue idea has always focused on things like multi story apartment complexes and packed together downtowns.

        • Magiccupcake@startrek.website
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          11 months ago

          Those lots are probably a quarter the size of the lot I’m on, in a affluent suburban house. Maybe even smaller

          Its true that it’s not that dense though.

          It’s also pretty likely that there are more residents per house than a typical affluent neighborhood.

    • RiderExMachina@lemmy.ml
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      11 months ago

      You’re coming at it from the wrong angle. The reason it’s worth more is not because the owners are paying more in taxes, but rather, the costs to maintain the neighborhood are less, allowing the money to be used for other improvements.

    • wolfshadowheart@slrpnk.net
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      11 months ago

      What type of taxes? And what proportions of taxes paid from what service? Historically there are areas that get bills proposing a sugar tax, which almost always pass in poor areas but almost never pass in richer areas. Richer areas generally have access to tap water and poorer areas may have to supplement tap water for things like soft drinks or bottled water, nickle and dimeing people who actually use those nickles.

      For example that was a real bill that passed in my local neighborhood growing up, which raised the cost of living for many people. On the other hand, it’s true that a city right next door paid exorbitantly more in taxes (in the billions)… at least on paper. However almost 80% of those came solely from property sales alone - i.e. rich people buying houses, not sales tax to local businesses while also not being taxed for the same things.

      • blazera@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        All taxes. And thats not how laws work, you dont have tax bills pass for some neighborhoods but not others, the whole city has one tax bill.