Wilderness to brothels to Apple store: the History of Development in one block

Aid Watch: Wilderness to brothels to Apple store: the History of Development in one block  William Easterly

We usually analyze Development at the national level. Why not other levels? At the other extreme, here is a short and surprising illustrated history of one city block. …

He concludes:

… Its history had been a series of unexpected events involving many actors, from Nicholas Bayard to the yellow fever mosquito to Anthony Arnoux to James Bogardus to Jane Jacobs to George Maciunas, few or none of whom could have anticipated the outcomes of their actions. Like many other examples, Soho illustrates that a lot of economic development is a surprise.

Read the post. It's a very interesting piece … and there are pictures! 🙂