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Market Urbanism

Liberalizing cities | From the bottom up

“Market Urbanism” refers to the synthesis of classical liberal economics and ethics (market), with an appreciation of the urban way of life and its benefits to society (urbanism). We advocate for the emergence of bottom up solutions to urban issues, as opposed to ones imposed from the top down.

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Emily Hamilton

I was first introduced to Jane Jacobs while working as an intern in the Planning Department of my hometown in Colorado. Her work enlightened me to the power of market forces to benefit all city dwellers without government intervention. Since then, I have become fascinated by the urban emergent order that creates our cities.

I graduated with a Masters in economics from George Mason University in 2010 after finishing my undergraduate degree at Goucher College in 2008. While at GMU, I worked as a Research Associate at the university’s Mercatus Center. After a brief time working elsewhere, I returned to the Mercatus Center to write for Neighborhood Effects about state and local policy issues.

Contact me at [email protected]

Urban Development in Charter Cities

September 13, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

In light of approval in Honduras for three new charter cities (REDs), much has been written recently on their potential to improve economic development. Economist Paul Romer makes a compelling case for the potential of charter cities, asserting that countries with institutions that impede economic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: history, infrastructure

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Centrally Planned City

August 30, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

On my last post about Ayn Rand's views on cities, I received feedback in the comments that obviously she loved cities and on Twitter that obviously she did not. I think I come down on the side that she likely saw cities, and particularly skyscrapers, as embodiment of human achievement. However Frank … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture & Books, housing

Ayn Rand on Urbanism

August 22, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

Ayn Rand's recent appearances in the news made me think about her position on urban issues. Some of her novels suggest that she is anti-city, believing that individualism can only be achieved by living in remote areas. In Anthem, for example, her protagonist lives in a type of dorm where people are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture & Books

Selling the Rights to Greater Density

August 15, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

At Next American City, Mark Bergen has an interesting long-form piece on municipal infrastructure financing. He argues that the property owners who benefit from public policies, such as infrastructure investment, should be required to fund these policies. He suggests infrastructure improvements … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Zoning Tagged With: affordable housing, smart growth, zoning

The High Cost of Free Parking Preface and Afterword

August 10, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

This is the last post in the series on Donald Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking. Previous can be found here: Chapters 1 - 4 Chapters 5 - 9 Chapters 10 - 14 Chapters 16 - 18 Chapters 19 - 22 Preface In these two chapters, which Donald Shoup added for the paperback edition of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture & Books, parking Tagged With: Donald Shoup

The High Cost of Free Parking Chapters 19-22

August 7, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

This post from the series on Donald Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking is reposted from last week because the site's database caused recent posts to be deleted. Chapter 19: The Ideal Source of Local Public Revenue In this chapter, Donald Shoup makes the case that passing up the potential … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Review, Culture & Books, parking Tagged With: Donald Shoup

The High Cost of Free Parking Chapters 16 – 18

July 20, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

This post follows on the earlier discussion of Donald Shoup's The High Cost of Free Parking. Chapter 16 -- Turning Small Change in Big Changes Here Donald Shoup gets to the idea of using Business Improvement Districts to manage street parking as Brandon Smith mentioned in the last post's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Review, Culture & Books, Economics, parking Tagged With: Donald Shoup

The High Cost of Free Parking Chapters 10-14

July 9, 2012 By Emily Hamilton

This post follows on the earlier discussion of the The High Cost of Free Parking. I realized that I left a couple of important points out of the last post. First, Shoup applies the Hippocratic Oath of "first, do no harm," to parking requirements. What a great way to think about city planning. If … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Review, Culture & Books, parking Tagged With: Donald Shoup

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