Celebrity Lobbying as an Impediment to Increasing Center City Density

The NY Post reports that “Top Chef” Padma Lakshmi opposes NYU’s plan to “densify” The Village.  I have already reported that Matthew Broderick opposes the plan.   Permit me to quote the authoritative NY Post:

“The famed cookbook author and onetime Indian supermodel wore a white summer dress as she slipped into one the last available seats in a Manhattan courtroom packed with about 100 activists who claim the iconic school’s blueprints will illegally eliminate vital green space in Greenwich Village.”

So, do the readers and authors of this green blog support NYU’s growth plan?  I’m a 100% supporter of going vertical in major cities including New York City and Santa Monica.  The low carbon benefits of this push are clear.  Or does this low carbon blog oppose “this progress” because it extinguishes unique neighborhoods?   For some perspective, take a look at Ed Glaeser’s points about historic preservation.      What are the carbon benefits of allowing for encouraging increases in urban population density?  See Glaeser and Kahn (2010).