USA: @nicolegelinas review of @Richard_Florida’s #NewUrbanCrisis on @nytimes: ““#CreativeClass” is not an accurate term, but it is sexy.” ‏

The New York Times: “… Likewise, Richard Florida states blithely that “Uber and Airbnb hope to actually make some aspects of cities work more efficiently.” Sure, and BP hopes to end climate change. In the meantime, Uber heavily subsidizes the price of a black-car ride, although streets in dense cities can’t handle more cars. Airbnb has allowed people to illegally convert entire apartment buildings into hotels, further constricting housing supply. What’s more, Airbnb property owners pay their cleaners informally, something that big-city hotels can’t do, and a practice that undercuts one Florida goal: creating higher-paying jobs for service employees.

Several of Florida’s solutions are sound — although they, too, would benefit from a closer look at individual cities. He suggests more mass transit, including bringing rail to suburbs that have reached the limits of moving people efficiently by car. He suggests more rental housing construction, a good idea for New York, but not so much for shrunken cities that have too much housing. … .”