(The proliferation
of live-work units is more proof of my earlier point about supply and
demand being hard to short-circuit, isn't it?)
Just to clarify: the live-work projects actually benefit from substantial
indirect city subsidies. They're entirely exempt from the usual developer
fees for schools and low-income housing; they're also not subject to the
requirements for design, bulk, and open space that apply to conventional
residential construction. Now I suspect that the live-work boom would
continue even without these exemptions: the increased costs would simply be
passed on to buyers, who may not be particularly price-sensitive anyway. But
as things stand now, it's not entirely a market-driven phenomenon.