Parking on Henderson Avenue

There is a parking problem on Henderson Avenue in Dallas. Henderson Avenue has a host of fashionable night clubs and restaurants and is a popular night spot in Dallas. Even though Dallas requires some businesses to provide parking, there is just not enough to go around. The root of the problem, according to the Dallas Morning News is that trends are unpredictable. The city just cannot predict what areas will become trendy and when.

Dallas should not feel bad. No one can predict the future, particularly when it comes to people. Cities and governments might plan for the future, but they cannot predict it. Humans are unpredictable. You just cannot know what they will like or want in the future. There may be general patterns, but when it comes to specifics such as where they will want to shop or eat, all bets are off. This unpredictability is a major headache for planners. In frustration with this fact, modern planners have shifted from trying to predict the future to trying to manipulate it. That is just what Dallas has been trying to do.

To this end, city officials, police, and neighborhood groups met recently to address the problems on Henderson Street. According to Dallas police Deputy Chief Vincent Golbeck, "Its going to be a political, public safety, economic development issue." I have news for Chief Golbeck, it is going to be none of those things. The city may be able to address parking and safety problems on Henderson Street. But, as the Morning News pointed out, trends cannot be predicted. No one knows where the next hot spot will be. When it pops up, the city will have to go through the whole thing again. You just cannot predict the future.

Despite this fact, government never gives up. Over the years as faith in the efficacy of government has increased, government has steadily moved away from trying to predict the future to trying to manipulate it. Many cities have shifted from chasing trendy spots to trying to create them. They provide tax breaks, (the usual government tool), or manipulate zoning codes to attract businesses that are hoped will create the vibrant, eclectic neighborhoods so many cities crave. Every city wants a Greenwich Village. They will often go to great lengths to get one. But it just doesn't work that way. People will go where they want to go, not where the government or city planners want them to go. If you could just zone a Greenwich Village into existence, every city would have one. Dallas may want people to find some other way down to Henderson Avenue. But it will have to find some way to compel them if it is to do so.

Those ambitious souls with their visions of what society should be are notoriously impatient. When their vision of the future exceeds their patience, they act to bring that vision about. Whether it is health care, social justice, or trendy night spots, progressives will act to lead society to the future as they envision it. To that end they are forever planning and legislating. They will try to entice through manipulating ordinances and tax codes. If that fails, they will coerce.

The problem is often that the more reluctant people are to embrace the image of the future held out to them, the more determined progressives become. A determined progressive is one of the greatest enemies a free society can have, for they will not rest until society is bent to their vision.