Earlier today I posted the video of the Cato discussion on housing with Randal O'Toole, Ryan Avent, Adam Gordon, and Matt Yglesias, but I wanted to transcribe one segment towards the end. (Like I said, it's hard to skip to the end of the streaming video because you can't scroll beyond what's already … [Read more...]
Archives for June 2012
Market Urbanism vs. Market Suburbanism smackdown at Cato: “The Death and Life of Affordable Housing”
The debate you've been waiting for! Randal O'Toole, Matt Yglesias, Ryan Avent, and Adam Gordon participated yesterday in a discussion at the Cato Institute moderated by Diana Lind from Next American City/Forefront. (How had this never happened before??)Randal O'Toole did not disappoint, arriving … [Read more...]
APA California hints (strongly) at opposition to parking minimum reform bill
Minimum parking requirement reform bills have been floating around the California legislature for a while – last year it was AB 710, and this year it's AB 904, both authored by East Bay Asm. Nancy Skinner.This email blast to members from the American Planning Association's California chapter … [Read more...]
In Defense of Chicago
First of all, I should start out by saying that I've only ever been to Chicago once, and I really don't remember anything but the inside of my aunt's house. I remember asking them if there was good mass transit, and they said Metra is good, but the L, which is near them, is not something they'd … [Read more...]
Photos and renderings of buildings going up across New York
In honor of my new home (as of this February), New York City, here are some new towers going up in Midtown Manhattan! All photos from (where else?) the SkyscraperCity forums...click for source.The first is the International Gem Tower in the Diamond District (which looks to me like textured steel … [Read more...]
Montgomery County’s loss is Calgary’s gain: Rollin Stanley escapes from the coven to Canada
Not sure how this escaped me, but it seems that a few weeks ago, Rollin Stanley was announced as Calgary's new chief planner. Rollin Stanley, you'll recall, was the very vocal pro-urban growth planner in Maryland's Montgomery County, north of Washington, DC, who resigned after these four sentences … [Read more...]
Were NYU and Chelsea Market’s hotels just stalking horses?
An item from Crain's NY Business, behind a paywall (I think?): Sacrificial hotels Two hotel developments in Manhattan were effectively killed last week. The City Planning Commission cut a proposed 190-room property from New York University's expansion plan, and Community Board 4 rejected Chelsea … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism Book Club
I'm very excited that some of you expressed interest in doing a book club this summer. I think we should start with The High Cost of Free Parking. It's the longer of the two books, but it looks like the relative beach read.I am thinking that what makes the most sense is for me to post some brief … [Read more...]