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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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Nolan Gray

Nolan Gray
I am a writer living in the Washington, D.C. area. I studied philosophy, political science, and history at the University of Kentucky and will pursue a Master of City and Regional Planning degree at Rutgers University this fall. My research interests include urban economics, land-use regulation, and urban planning theory.

Send your questions, comments, and frustrations to me on Twitter at @mnolangray. You can find my personal blog here.

The Urban Planning of the North Pole

December 25, 2020 By Nolan Gray Leave a Comment

You might think the North Pole is the most magical place on earth. But behind the magic, our deep dive into the history of Christmas movies reveals that there's more to it than that. In our firstPop Culture Urbanism holiday special, I explore the urban planning behind the North Pole. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Pop Culture Urbanism Tagged With: christmas, city planning, design regulations, growth machine, north pole, pop culture urbanism\

How Developers Became Hollywood’s Favorite Villain

August 21, 2020 By Nolan Gray

If there's one thing that unites TV and film since the fifties, it's the archetype of the dastardly developer - forever destroying homes and hiking rents. But it wasn't always this way. Where did this trope come from, and is it true? This week on Pop Culture Urbanism, I dig into the cronyism and red … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Pop Culture Urbanism Tagged With: cronyism, developers, disney, gentefied, gentrification, hey arnold, hollywood, it's a wonderful life

The City Planning Behind Avatar: The Last Airbender

August 14, 2020 By Nolan Gray

Appa flying over Republic City

Has the Water Tribe gone full NIMBY? Can Avatar Aang overcome his angry impulse to preserve? Why is Ba Sing Se so segregated? And what can we learn from the success of Republic City? In this week's episode of Pop Culture Urbanism, we explore the trade-offs and complications that every growing city … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Pop Culture Urbanism Tagged With: avatar, ba sing sae, city planning, legend of korra, republic city, the last airbender, urban design, water tribe

The Amazing Housing Politics of Spider-Man

August 7, 2020 By Nolan Gray

How can Spider-Man possibly afford to live in New York? And how can we make the city more affordable for dear Aunt May? In the first episode of my brand new YouTube series on pop-culture urbanism, we dig into the Sam Raimi "Spider-Man" trilogy to uncover the housing problems (and solutions) of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, housing, zoning Tagged With: housing, housing affordability, New York City, nyc, spider-man, spiderman, yimby

The Low-Key Housing Politics of Spider-Man

July 17, 2019 By Nolan Gray

With Spider-Man: Far From Home hitting theaters earlier this month, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken one of the series’ biggest risks yet: pulling Spider-Man out of New York City. The gravity of this decision is baked into the film’s title — with good reason. More than any other Marvel … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, housing Tagged With: affordability, housing, marvel, New York City, queens, spider-man, Urban Planning

What Should I Read to Understand Zoning?

April 16, 2019 By Nolan Gray

A stack of books

We are blessed and cursed to live in times in which most smart people are expected to have an opinion on zoning. Blessed, in that zoning is arguably the single most important institution shaping where we live, how we move around, and who we meet. Cursed, in that zoning is notoriously obtuse, with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Review, zoning Tagged With: alain bertaud, bernard siegan, books, david owen, death and life of great american cities, edward glaeser, green metropolis, Jane Jacobs, reading list, richard babcock, richard rothstein, seymour toll, sonia hirt, the color of law, the zoning game, triumph of the city, William Fischel, zoned american, zoned in the usa, zoning

Against Spot Text Amendments

April 8, 2019 By Nolan Gray

As zoning has become more restrictive over time, the need for “safety valve” mechanisms—which give developers flexibility within standard zoning rules—has grown exponentially.U.S. zoning officially has two such regulatory relief mechanisms: variances and special permits. Variances generally … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: special permit, spot text amendment, spot zoning, variance, zoning

Why Is Japanese Zoning More Liberal Than US Zoning?

March 19, 2019 By Nolan Gray

Over the past few years, Japanese zoning has become popular among YIMBYs thanks to a classic blog post by Urban kchoze. It’s easy to see why: Japanese zoning is relatively liberal, with few bulk and density controls, limited use segregation, and no regulatory distinction between apartments and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: planning, World, zoning Tagged With: japan, land-use regulation, preemption, tokyo, united states, zoning

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