Don't say You Weren't Warned

It's no secret I have a very low opinion of the planning profession. So low that I bristle at using the word profession. Astrologers are not astronomers. But sometimes the blind squirrel gets a nut and this is such a case. The American Planning Association has this article from 2003:

When the Bubble Bursts
Good news: Housing doesn't necessarily behave like the stock market.
By Corey Cox, AICP
In 1987, economist Kenicihi Ohmae stood on a Tokyo street corner with an American television reporter. Ohme placed a white handkerchief on the sidewalk. "Right here, we're standing over the most expensive residential area in Tokyo," Ohmae said. A square foot of property smaller than his hankie was worth $22,000.
Fifteen years later, the same square foot had dropped in value by nearly 60 percent. ...
A housing bubble takes place when housing prices are pushed higher than an area's economy can adequately sustain. ...
Some experts think there is a disconnect between the overall economy and housing prices. They worry that another bubble, like the one in the technology sector, is in the offing. The tech bubble preceded the stock market downturn that wiped out $7 trillion in investor wealth.

Almost the entire article is highly recommended. "Almost" because like all would-be social architects the APA fells compelled to slip in a little agenda vice affordable housing.