Jason M. Barr
NationalityAmerican
OccupationProfessor of economics
OrganizationRutgers University Newark
WebsiteOfficial website

Jason M. Barr is an American economist and author at Rutgers University-Newark, whose work is in the field of "skynomics", the study of skyscrapers and skylines using modern economics methods.[1][2][3][4] He is the author of Building the Skyline: The Birth and Growth of Manhattan's Skyscrapers, which chronicled the history of the Manhattan skyline from an economic perspective.[5][6] Barr's work is interdisciplinary and integrates multiple disciplines including urban studies, geography, and economic history. Barr is one of the few economists studying the intersection of economics and skyscraper construction.

Biography

Barr earned his B.S. from Cornell University in 1992, his M.F.A. in creative writing from Emerson College in 1995 and his Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University in 2002.[7]

Barr has conducted research in Changchun, China, and at the Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques. He also received grants from the Land Economic Foundation, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, and the WCF/National Park Service. Dr. Barr is an affiliated faculty member with the Global Urban Systems Ph.D. program. His research interests include urban economics and agent-based computational economics. Dr. Barr serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, the Eastern Economic Journal and the Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination.

Research

Barr's work has addressed widely held myths or misconceptions about skyscrapers and cities.[8][9][10][11] For example, research performed by Barr and his colleagues showed that there was no evidence for the Skyscraper Curse, that the completion of the world's tallest building is a herald of an economic crisis.[12][13] Barr has also debunked the misconception that Manhattan's geological conditions have been the reason there are few skyscrapers between lower Manhattan and Midtown.[14][15][16][17][18] Rather, Barr's work demonstrates that Midtown's origin was due to the city's demographic evolution and the fact that Manhattan is a long, but narrow, island that concentrated economic activity to a much greater degree, as compared to other cities.[19][20] Barr has also written extensively on zoning in the United States including the role of Robert Moses and the City Planning Commission creating the current NYC zones.

New Manahatta Project

New Mannahatta Project proposed by Jason Barr in 2022

Barr is an advocate of land reclamation projects such as those seen in Hong Kong and the Netherlands. He is also an advocate of Lower Manhattan expansion. On January 14, 2022 Barr wrote an opinion article in the New York Times[21] which proposed the expansion of Manhattan Island.[22][23][24][25] This "New Mannahatta" project proposal was met with criticism from readers despite the project being quite similar to other already completed projects around the world. Among other academics and city planners Barr's project was met with greater enthusiasm.

Books

  • Building the Skyline: The Birth and Growth of Manhattan's Skyscrapers. Oxford University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0199344369
  • Economic Drivers: Skyscrapers in China. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, 2017. ISBN 978-0939493555.

References

  1. ↑ Emily Badger, "How skyscrapers reveal the rise and fall American fortunes". The Washington Post, Wonkblog, Jan. 8, 2016
  2. ↑ Jason Barr. "Skyscraper height". Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 2012, 45(3), 723-753.
  3. ↑ Henry Grabar, "Which skyscraper is tallest? It's complicated". Salon.com, Nov. 11, 2013
  4. ↑ Jeff Giles, "It's Tough Being a Young Skyscraper", The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2019
  5. ↑ "The up and up". The Economist, Aug. 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ Jan Klerks. "Book Review: Explaining the Manhattan skyline by the numbers". Skyhigh.city. August 17, 2016
  7. ↑ Barr, Jason. "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Alissa Walker. "5 myths about New York City skyscrapers, debunked". Curbed.com, October 6, 2016
  9. ↑ "A Guide to NYC's Skyline | Skyline Cruises". Skyline Princess Cruises. 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  10. ↑ "A Tale Of Two Skylines: The Story Behind New York City's 'Gap'". TheTravel. 2023-02-17. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  11. ↑ Jason Barr and Gerard Koeppel. "The Manhattan Street Grid Plan: Misconceptions and Corrections", January 4, 2017
  12. ↑ Jason Barr, Bruce Mizrach and Kusum Mundra. "Skyscraper height and the business cycle: separating myth from reality". Applied Economics, 2015, 47(2), 148-160.
  13. ↑ "Towers of Babel: Is there such a thing as the skyscraper curse?" The Economist, March 28, 2015
  14. ↑ Matt Chaban. "Uncanny valley: the real reason there are no skyscrapers in the middle of Manhattan". The New York Observer, January 17, 2012
  15. ↑ Matt Chaban. "Paul Goldberger and skyscraper economist Jason Barr debate the Manhattan skyline." The New York Observer, January 25, 2012
  16. ↑ David W. Dunlap. "450 million years ago, Hell's Kitchen earned its name". The New York Times, February 2, 2015
  17. ↑ Jason Barr, Troy Tassier and Rossen Trendafilov. "Depth to bedrock and the formation of the Manhattan skyline, 1890–1915". Journal of Economic History, 2011, 71(4), 1060-1077.
  18. ↑ Chris Weller. "6 hidden reasons why New York City looks like it does". TechInsider, September 25, 2015.
  19. ↑ Richard Florida and Andrew Small. "The curious case of New York's two economic centers". Citylab.com, November 23, 2016.
  20. ↑ Jason Barr and Troy Tassier. "The dynamics of subcenter formation: Midtown Manhattan, 1861-1906". Journal of Regional Science, 2016, 56(5), 731–933.
  21. ↑ Barr, Jason M. (14 January 2022). "Opinion | 1,760 Acres. That's How Much More of Manhattan We Need". The New York Times.
  22. ↑ "Opinion: One Solution to Manhattan's Land Shortage: Just Build It". www.planetizen.com. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  23. ↑ "Make NYC more affordable by extending Manhattan: professor". 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  24. ↑ "Jason Barr for PIX11: Plan to expand Manhattan? Rutgers professor explains buzzy proposal". Rutgers SASN. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
  25. ↑ "Manhattan Island extension could provide homes for 250,000 people". Dezeen. 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2023-08-10.
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