James Howard Kunstler Quotes

Basically, New York housing is designed by formula, with lots of restrictions.

To give everyone a house and garden is very difficult in urban areas.

Architecture is a slow business, and city planning even slower.

The agreement of the owners to build no structure less than ten feet from the street was probably the first instance in Boston of a restriction upon real estate that had in view the symmetry and general appearance of a street lined with buildings

Denver is a city that will be far more defined by its future than its past.

Good buildings come from good people, and all problems are solved by good design.

If you want to decrease housing costs in Norway, the most important thing is to build more.

We can't have Harlem become one borough for the rich.

One of the most unfortunate side effects of the urban activism of the '60s and '70s is the belief that development is wrong and that fighting it makes you an environmentalist.

I wanted a real profession. And I'd always been interested in architecture and in design and in, really, what makes things work. And understanding what's kind of behind the walls and why things stand up and some things don't.

I think that there will always be a need for Housing and Urban Development.

Architects are not clients. We can't build without something to built.

If we allow more development, it will bring housing affordability.

I think it's evident that expensive neighborhoods in Seattle are surrounded by natural beauty. That elevates city life. So if we can make cities more attractive in the long run, we can be smarter about issues like development, zoning and economics.

Building codes are a good thing. People who throw rocks at inspectors are being naive. It's a lot like police officers; we want them around unless they stop us for a ticket. It's the same with inspectors.

If you people can’t afford to live in our town, then you’ll just have to leave.

If, instead of hiring half-baked revolutionary planners to fill our college undergraduates with ingenious schemes to disperse populations, split up big cities into little ones, go underground or into distant places to escape bombs and congestion, abandon large urban areas in favor of roadside villages, we were to publish reliable, simply written, common-sense information to control the building boom, what a country this would be!

The current challenge facing the environmental authorities is how to properly deal with the environmental problems caused by economic development.

Construction in Jerusalem cannot be halted.

The impact of our warming planet will likely lead to even stricter zoning and building codes to account for the rising sea levels visible in places like South Beach - even on days without a cloud in sky.

If you look at the back pages of 'New York Times Magazine,' and they talk about these 6.5-million-dollar condos with a great view, like you're going to pay for a great view. Well, the top floor of the projects have a great view, too.

I strongly believe supply is the best way to address housing affordability.

If we are ever going to fix our housing affordability crisis, we have to make significant changes to how we plan and construct, and we have to be open to solutions that make it easier and faster to build much-needed housing.

Before starting a building project, it is wise to discuss your plans in full with the neighbours.

By scrapping the government's centrally dictated density targets we'll ensure that the right type of new homes are built where they're needed, ending the glut of one- and two-bedroom flats.