Dr Eric Crampton: The superpower that could unlock billions for Kiwirail - or another railway company

Imagine waking up and discovering that, overnight, you had been granted superpowers.

With a touch of your finger, you could cause new housing to emerge in places with housing shortages. It would cost you next to nothing. You could just do it.

Imagine further that, for decades, you had not had a real job and depended on cash handouts from your increasingly-annoyed parents. With your superpower, you could change all that and deliver housing for people who need it into the bargain.

Steve Lafleur from Canada: Mid-Sized Cities Can Attract Tourists by Being Themselves

People flock to major cities to take advantage of unique experiences. In theory, most of the types of activities tourists seek out can be replicated most anywhere, but people are willing to pay a large premium and go out of their way to see a show on Broadway, or eat a Philly cheese steak in Philadelphia. 

These unique experiences don’t merely appeal to tourists. They are part of what keep people coming Downtown after hours, rather than staying in the suburbs. Having a glass of wine or coffee at a patio on a cobblestone sidewalk can be a much more enjoyable experience than doing in a suburban strip mall.

Phil McDermott: Out Might Just be Better than Up - the Housing Density Debate is Not Over

The fall-back position - let's not be LA

New Minister of Housing Dr Nick Smith is determined to “smash the city limits”, so that Auckland grows out, as well as up.  The Mayor of Auckland responded with the claim that allowing the city to expand outward is tantamount to advocating a “flawed Los Angeles model of suburban sprawl and unbridled land availability", and that it would be a throwback to the 1940s and 1950s.