Article seems to end just as it's getting interesting.
When there's a tension between city as investment vehicle and city as a place for living what's the tipping point? And what's the next stable equilibrium?
A city will not stay a pure "investment vehicle" forever - the RE-values bubble has to deflate at some point. But it can take some time because the market is so illiquid, and a downwards correction is especially likely to be erratic. Then the gentrification/speculation process starts all over again and we're back to square one. Want to improve things? Tax away urban rents by raising property taxes (the opposite approach to California Prop 13) and the relevant market will become far more liquid, and less prone to excessive real estate costs.
When there's a tension between city as investment vehicle and city as a place for living what's the tipping point? And what's the next stable equilibrium?