korrents

What Alon Levy thinks about infrastructure

@alon-levy · 17 positions · 0 changes of mind

Mathematician turned transport researcher, a fellow at NYU's Marron Institute and a lead of the Transit Costs Project, which compares what it costs to build rail in different countries. Writes Pedestrian Observations.

Alon Levy did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2024 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Alon Levy has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingSpreading jobs into a polycentric region does not cut commuting: transit ridership is weaker there than in cities with one strong centre.

    Their wordsNor does polycentricity solve the problem. Indeed, ridership in polycentric regions is weaker than in monocentric ones.

    ↗Why Building Metros is Necessary for the Green Transition Away from Carspedestrianobservations.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  3. Our readingEnvironmental cost-benefit analyses systematically understate what a new metro line is worth, because most of the driving it displaces happens elsewhere on the network.

    Their wordsThis, in turn, creates serious estimation problems for the diversion rate, which is why environmental benefit-cost analyses underrate the effect of urban rail construction.

    ↗Why Building Metros is Necessary for the Green Transition Away from Carspedestrianobservations.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

  4. 21 months earlier

  5. Our readingHigh infrastructure costs are not Baumol's cost disease: what a country pays per kilometre of subway barely tracks how rich it is.

    Their wordsIn fact, even though growth in average infrastructure costs over time is documented, there is very little cross-national correlation between GDP per capita and per-km subway construction costs.

    ↗Meme Weeding: High Wages and Baumol's Cost Diseasepedestrianobservations.com 1st of 4 in this piece

  7. Our readingThe English-speaking world builds infrastructure expensively because it is behind, not because it is rich.

    Their wordsIt’s not that the Anglosphere is rich; it’s that it’s the Anglosphere and builds inefficiently.

    ↗Meme Weeding: High Wages and Baumol's Cost Diseasepedestrianobservations.com 2nd of 4 in this piece

  9. Our readingBritain has a systemic problem building large infrastructure projects, including reservoirs

    Their wordsIt’s turned entire countries, like the United Kingdom, incapable of building more than about one line per generation.

    ↗Meme Weeding: High Wages and Baumol's Cost Diseasepedestrianobservations.com 4th of 4 in this piece