This claim strikes me as ridiculous. The huddled masses came to the New Word for the express purpose of homeownership, which was apparently unavailable in the Old World?

You do realize that many Old World nations have much higher homeownership rates than Canada or the U.S., right?

Italy and Ireland, the two Old World nations probably most closely associated with immigration to the U.S., have far higher homeownership levels than in the New World.

And since when is highrise development correlated with homeowership and affordability?

why isn't this in "Found City Photos?"

-

All these photos Ive taken.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/8...38e1e503_b.jpg

Probably never been shown before on SSP, but this is Johnstown PA.

Then heres a few shots of Pittsburgh since I recently moved here.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8...fd18428d_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8101/8...4c32e9b7_b.jpg

Heres a couple shots I took a few months back of part of Cincinnatis skyline.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8...7e6bcf0f_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8...a14c4c2f_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8470/8...57ca8bcf_b.jpg
Now heres Baton Rouge from around a year ago from the state capitol building.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8119/8...23eb2cd1_b.jpg
Vicksburg, MS

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8...18e49f8a_b.jpg
photo by me

Birmingham Alabama

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8120/8...eb0030a0_b.jpg
Jackson, MS

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8517/8...54f73957_b.jpg
Part of Atlantas skyline a few months back.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8418/8...b338b9cb_b.jpg
Another one of Atlanta

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8...6b795d3d_b.jpg
Columbus Ohio

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8...1c27bf4b_b.jpg
photo from when I drove through Chattanooga TN on my way to Pittsburgh.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8265/8...767bcf8c_b.jpg
Probably another new one, the dying town of Meridian Mississippi.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7281/8...6626709a_b.jpg
Dayton, OH

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8114/8...41cfdaa9_b.jpg
Skyline of Houston when I left and went on an epic 3 week journey across the US to move to Pittsburgh.

Ive got tons and tons of skyline photos from most of American cities that Ive photographed but thats it for now. More later.

False.

Let's go over this again: 1) Even before residential skyscrapers existed, the majority of San Franciscans rented. 2) No amount of skyscraper construction will depress housing costs enough to make home ownership possible on a cashier's salary. 3) The reason for both 1) and 2): there isn't enough land on this hilly, 46-square mile penninsula to adequately supply the insatiable demand--domestic, international, institutional--for residential property.

Anway, back to aggrandizing Canada. Hail, the Sole Guardian of the Dream of the New World!

Anyway, more skyline!

http://www.jimcoda.com/data/photos/9..._francisco.jpg
jim coda photography

Knoxville

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4110/5...606ea1a4_b.jpg
Knoxville by Welles Photo, on Flickr

Well, no wonder no one can afford to own a house in San Francisco, they're letting islands sit undeveloped like that in the middle of the harbour.

Alcatraz? I think it's a national park or historic site or something...

Maybe you were joking...:???:

He could have been talking about Angel Island...which like Alcatraz is also a state park/national historic site.

I assumed he was joking though.

Awesome Johnstown pic!

again, nice picture of pittsburgh w/ her lights aglow. i was shocked to see how bad meredian, ms represented. san fran just exudes energy---nice photo. is the midrise slightly to the left of the shot of the 'ham the new children's hospital, or am i just disoriented. usually, most of those shots come from 17th sw or just above 5 points. maybe the camera makes the adjustments, but the harbart building and the other core towers seem to be a little closer to the uab medical center. i think ciny is pretty at night; however, it isn't the most flattering shot of the core. atlanta, what can you say, it is really a linear city, it just happened that way. if they had it to do over, i wonder if most would make a larger central core? they would have the buildings.

Don't think I've seen Ft. Lauderdale on here before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9520948...n/photostream/
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7349/8...77b8e165_h.jpg

that is so nice.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7388/8...18d2a52b_b.jpg
CSC_0365 by QuantumX, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7342/8...0d6d01b4_b.jpg
DSC_0321 by QuantumX, on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7340/8...64709905_b.jpg
CSC_0367 by QuantumX, on Flickr

Definitely not one of mine!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maugbiker/8658983333/
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8...a0098b24_h.jpg

Actually kingchef, the original Downtown central core is fairly large as it is. What you are seeing is the growth of the skyline following the subway North, and it is very linear... :yes:

Precisely! Europe was a place of wealthy landowners up until about 1950. The masses flocked to the New World because it offered upward mobility. Home ownership was very much a part of that.

That Europeans now have high home ownership rates doesn't change the fact that they arrived on these shores by the millions because it didn't used to be that way.

Isn't it obvious? High rise development is directly related to home ownership rates in expensive real estate markets because it's the only option. Ever wonder why Manhattan builds high rise residential? Try getting into the housing market there for a row house. Not only is there no land to build them, but they'd be well out of reach for about 90% of Manhattanites if you did build them.

I'm not aware of this history. Southern Italy, former Prussia, and Ireland (probably biggest European immigrant hubs) didn't have feudal-style landownership concurrent with immigration, and the U.S. gateway cities were never homeownership hubs.
Except I don't see any evidence they came here for that reason. They sure didn't act like when they came here, as they gravitated towards the places in the U.S. with the worst opportunities for homeownership.
Manhattan builds high rise residential because it's the highest and best use. Manhattan has some of the lowest homeownership rates of any county in the U.S., and the strong majority of Manhattan highrises are rentals.

BTW, price per square foot is higher for highrise housing than for rowhouse housing in Manhattan. The remaining townhouses are actually cheaper on a per square foot basis. The only reason they aren't demolished is because they're almost all in landmarked districts.

So the short reason why almost no new townhouses are built in Manhattan is because it makes no economic sense.

You are no historian.

lol