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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.

When It Comes to Walkability, Mexico City Is Miles Ahead

August 29, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Pedestrian Street in Mexico City

 This piece was coauthored by Nolan Gray and Katarina Hall.It’s like Los Angeles, but worse. To many, that’s the mental image of Mexico City: a city of unending traffic, unbearable smog, and unrestrained horizontal expansion. Yet when one walks the streets of Mexico City, a distinct … [Read more...]

Filed Under: planning, Transportation Tagged With: bicycles, bus rapid transit, latin america, Mexico, Mexico City, parks, transit, Transportation, walkability

Episode 01: Announcing the Market Urbanism Podcast!

August 25, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Citysape

Phew! It's finally here. After spending a good chunk of my summer researching podcasting, reaching out to potential guests, and recording my first few episodes, I am excited to announce the launch of the Market Urbanism Podcast.You can currently find the podcast on Soundcloud and PlayerFM. It … [Read more...]

Filed Under: market urbanism podcast Tagged With: market urbanism podcast

How Realistic Are the Cities of Fallout?

July 1, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Diamond City

 Even by the bizarre standard set by other fandoms, the fandom surrounding the Fallout video game series is weird. Where your typical human would rather spend a Friday night doing strange things like “hang out with friends” and “go out,” your average Fallout fan is likely spending his … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, Places & Spaces Tagged With: fallout, history, urbanization, video games

Houston’s Beautiful (Yet Partial) Embrace of Market Urbanism

June 2, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Houston skyline

A metropolitan economy, if it is working well, is constantly transforming many poor people into middle-class people, many illiterates into skilled people, many greenhorns into competent citizens. … Cities don’t lure the middle class. They create it. – Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, housing, planning, Transportation, zoning Tagged With: Dallas, Houston

Reclaiming “Redneck” Urbanism: What Urban Planners Can Learn From Trailer Parks

April 21, 2016 By Nolan Gray

"Life in a Trailer Park in Florida" (Boston Public Library/Flickr)

 Given that “redneck” and “hillbilly” remain the last acceptable stereotypes among polite society, it isn’t surprising that the stereotypical urban home of poor, recently rural whites remains an object of scorn. The mere mention of a trailer park conjures images of criminals in wifebeaters, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, planning

Liberate the Garage!: Autonomous Cars and the American Dream

March 14, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Apple garage

When it comes to the impact autonomous cars will have on cities, there’s plenty of room for disagreement. Will they increase or decrease urban densities? Will they help with congestion or make it worse? At the same time, there seems to be widespread agreement on at least two things: First, far fewer … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, housing, zoning Tagged With: apple, autonomous cars, disney, driverless cars, entrepreneurship, garage, google, harley davidson, housing, hp, mattel, microsoft, parking, small business, zoning

Who Plans?: Jane Jacobs’ Hayekian critique of urban planning

February 21, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Cities are fantastically dynamic places, and this is strikingly true of their successful parts, which offer a fertile ground for the plans of thousands of people.- Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities For most of the field’s history, prominent urban planning theorists have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, planning Tagged With: Ebenezer Howard, Friedrich Hayek, Jane Jacobs, Le Corbusier, spontaneous order

Return to Sender: Housing affordability and the shipping container non-solution

February 2, 2016 By Nolan Gray

Shipping container homes in Cuba

Washington, D.C. has a monopoly on many things. Bad policy, unfortunately, isn’t among them. Last month, a development corporation in Lexington, Kentucky installed a shipping container house in an economically distressed area of town to improve housing affordability. The corporation is a private … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, zoning Tagged With: affordable housing, housing, kentucky, lexington, RIchard Florida, shipping container, tiny homes, zoning

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