[HC_TSL_No.3]Zone Defense：Strip Malls with Actual Strippers

06 September 2008

Zone Defense: Strip Malls with Actual Strippers

A guest post by Daryl Morey

For the second time ever, I have a guest blogger - and this one I did not have to sleep with as an inducement to post. My buddy Daryl has generously offered to write something for R World and I eagerly agreed. I've written about Daryl (in his first season as the Houston Rockets GM, the team put together the second longest winning streak in NBA history) and how much I enjoy him. Daryl is one person I never feel as though I have to slow down for when I'm engaged in conversation. He's quick, but he also loves big ideas, and he is not afraid to go deep or silly on any number of subjects. I'm delighted to share a little bit of him for you all here at R World. Enjoy!

As Ron has stated eloquently in his blog before (Rockets Win Again with Rookie GM), "I go where the data goes". This tendency, along with the fact that "I doubt the deep doubts" (Socrates) makes life a bit of an adventure as I might change a belief at any moment. To demonstrate my willingness to change, I will provide one recent anecdote.

First, a little background. I generally have libertarian views and believe the Guvment should basically only do roads, courts, police, the army, and tax externalities. Otherwise, stay out of our lives please.

When I moved to Houston, I was excited to hear they had no zoning. I was very curious to see how well this worked, independent folks finally able to make free choice in how to use land! Long story short, I have basically come to the conclusion that it does not work and the list of what Guvment should do is now reluctantly one longer.

Exhibit number one into evidence is probably this picture. This spot is about 4 miles from our house. The sex shop is apparent but what is not apparent is that the unlabeled building behind said shop is actually a Niemen Marcus that is connected to the most high end mall in the city. One stop shopping for sure!

Actually, it is not this particular arrangement that caused me to now support zoning, as I find it mostly humorous. What made me a supporter of zoning is the fact that nothing in Houston makes any logical sense and it contributes to a host of negative outcomes: longer commute times, confusion, and general waste of both public and private space.

[Editor's note: Daryl's post is, for those of you keeping score, the 800th here at R World.]

商业街连脱衣巷？可以更囧一点吗？
　　　　　　　　　——莫雷表示对城市区域规划的支持

Daryl Morey受邀在Ron Davison的博客R World发文 2008年9月6日

Zone Defense：Strip Malls with Actual Strippers

A guest post by Daryl Morey

Written by Ron Davison

这是第二次有嘉宾来我这发表博文了，而且这次我没有采用任何潜规则就把文章搞到了手。我的伙 计莫雷很慷慨的答应了为 R World（Ron Davison的博客）写一些东西，当然，我求之不得。我以前曾谈过莫雷这个家伙（在他做为火箭经理的第一个赛季，火箭获得了NBA历史第二的连胜纪录） 以及我是多么的喜欢他。他的反应如此的迅速，以至于和他谈话我永远都不会觉得我需要减慢速度。他常常会有鬼主意，也不害怕对于主题的谈论过于深入或可笑。 我很高兴能够向R World的读者分享他的故事。希望大家喜欢。

以下为莫雷原文：

就如Ron（Ron Davison）曾经在他的博客中形容的那样（原文点此），我是个数据狂人。这种思维倾向再加上我从苏格拉底那学来的对任何事物都抱有怀疑的态度，让我的生活就如探险一般，因为我可能在任何时候改变我的信仰。可以从最近的一件小事来描述我这种易变的性格。

首先，有些背景不得不提。我总的来说是个主张自由意志的人，我认为政府只应该管理道路，法院，警察，军队和税收外部性（tax externalities），而在其他方面远离我们的生活。

当我搬到休斯顿时，我对这个城市没有专门的区域划分感到十分激动，我很想知道让独立的个人完全自由的选择如何使用土地会有多么好的效果。但是在住了这么段时间以后，我最终的结论是效果并不好。虽然很不情愿，但是政府必须做的事情又多了一件。

证 据之一就是这张照片。这个地方离我家大概有4英里，照片上粉红色招牌的脱衣舞店十分显眼，但是其后的那个不显眼的没有标牌的大楼却是家Niemen Marcus（著名品牌，经营高档服装，化妆，奢侈品）并与这个城市最高端的购物区相连接。难不成这是准备让大家采购之后再捎带上一个美女？

莫雷提到的照片

实际上，并不是因为这个令人啼笑皆非的布局使得我现在支持由政府进行区域规划。真正的原因是在休斯顿没有什么是逻辑上合理的，给一个主办者来造成了很多负面影响：更长的往返时间，更多的困惑以及对私人和公用土地的浪费。