Market Urbanism:
In this blog I intend to introduce free-market thought to urbanists, and introduce urbanism to market advocates. I also hope to incorporate some ideas relating to environmentalism in the built environment. I like to refer to the connections between free-market economic thought, urbanism, and environmentalism as “Market Urbanism.”
Through my personal inquiry, I have concluded that free market advocates and urbanists actually share many objectives. Growing up in suburban Chicago, I felt there was something inefficient about the land patterns and tranportation of the suburbs. When I discovered urbanism in freshman architecture/planning coursework, it made sense. However, I became conflicted between my urbanist instinct and my free market instinct. Through study and practice of building and infrastructure design and construction, economics, planning, development, and urban economics I came to the realization that our problems with sprawl, congestion, and automobile dependency were the result of socialistic economic planning of our transportation system and land use, not due to market failures as many urbanists proclaim.
Market Urbanism examines how market forces and property rights, when left unfettered, enable complex, yet vibrant and economically robust communities and regions to emerge through the “spontaneous order” of the land use and transportation marketplace. When left to market forces, as opposed to intervention, our land use patterns and transporation systems results in society that is economically and environmentaly more efficient and just.
I currently practice real estate development and investments at a large real estate development company in New York City and am also starting up a small real estate investment fund in Chicago on the side.
I intend to present arguments and articles which help spread the results of my inquiry. I hope you find it interesting.
Contact me at adam@marketurbanism.com
Join me on facebook
Share articles at Reddit, DIGG, and del.icio.us.
