by Stephen SmithMatt Yglesias points to an article about Toronto's new zoning code. The story is short on details, although the lowering of parking minimums near transit and overall simplification of the code seem like appealing features to Market Urbanists. I did, however, find a blog post … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2010
Parking round-up
by Stephen SmithAt the risk of beating the parking theme deader than the Ground Zero Mosque, here are some recent parking-related stories published around the world:The NYC DOT's Park Smart program has been called a success in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, and officials are … [Read more...]
Why does the Infrastructurist hate libertarians so much?
by Stephen SmithAmong urban planners, libertarianism gets a pretty bad rap. Melissa Lafsky at the Infrastructurist goes so far as to call libertarianism "an enemy of infrastructure," and dismisses entirely the idea that private industry can build infrastructure with a single hyperlink – to a … [Read more...]
Shoupistas take Los Angeles
by Stephen SmithDonald Shoup and his arguments about free and underpriced parking have been getting quite a bit of press recently, and it looks like Shoup's hometown of Los Angeles has surpassed San Francisco (with its SFpark initiative) as the largest city in America to adopt some of his … [Read more...]
Even Midtown Manhattan not immune to anti-density NIMBYism
by Stephen SmithIn general, I think of Manhattan below Central Park as perhaps the freest place in America in terms of land use restrictions. There are no minimum parking regulations, zoning variances are relatively easy to get, and FAR restrictions are relatively generous. Historical … [Read more...]
Private Buses: Econtalk Takes A Second look at Santiago
Back a couple years ago, I noted an Econtalk podcast with Russell Roberts and Duke University Professor Mike Munger on the private bus system in Santiago, Chile. This week's episode starts with Munger's update on the Santiago transportation system after visiting for three weeks and spending a lot … [Read more...]
New empirical evidence that parking minimums encourage sprawl
by Stephen SmithAlthough we at Market Urbanism are big fans of Donald Shoup's work on parking minimums, we have to admit that rigorous econometric evidence that parking minimums mandate more parking than the market would otherwise supply has been a bit lacking. Randal O'Toole at The Antiplanner … [Read more...]
Must Read: The Demand Curve for Sprawl Slopes Downward
Sandy Ikeda's latest article at FEE's "The Freeman" is a great summary of the libertarian sprawl debate.There has been a lot of Internet chatter lately about what libertarians ought to think about urban sprawl and its causes, including pieces by Kevin Carson, Austin Bramwell, Randal O’Toole, and … [Read more...]