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Originally Posted by LucasS6
And the city can certainly subsidize building skyscrapers if they end up getting money from it. Just another investment.
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No, if you subsidize skyscrapers you end up with a glut of space and a crash in the real estate market. Think about it, if the government gives people money to increase the demmand for skyscrapers, then people will build more skyscrapers than there is actual demmand for. Eventually the excess space will catch up with everyone and crash the market by causing rents to plummet. The "build it and they will come" mentality is wrong, look at the ESB and WTC, they didn't fill up for decades after they were finished.
However, new parks and infrastructure are not governed by typical market conditions since there is nearly unlimited demmand since they are free to use. They greatly increase land values by making places more attractive. When land values go up, so does the demmand for skyscrapers, and poof! You've created more skyscrapers!
Just look at Millennium park as an example, it cost billions to build, but they have estimated that it has created billions of dollars in development within a two block radius alone. Do you think there would be enough demmand to cause a 50x50 plot to get a proposal for a 40 floor building if Millennium park weren't there?
Investing in public works, monuments, infrastructure, and parks is the best thing a government can improve its economy, and guess what, it has the added benefit of improving everyone elses lives!