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.

Pedestrianized streets usually fail – and that’s OK

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Urbanists love to celebrate, and replicate great urban spaces - and sometimes can't understand why governments don't: But what's important to recall - especially for those of us under, uh, 41 - is that pedestrianized streets aren't a new concept coming into style, they're an old one that's been … [Read more...]

Will congestion pricing hurt cities?

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In a series of recent posts, Tyler Cowen has taken the view that congestion prices in major downtowns are a bad idea. This is what one might expect of a typical New Jerseyan, but not a typical economist. The writing in these posts is a bit squirrelly (or is it Straussian?), but as best I can make … [Read more...]

Rhode Island’s housing process package

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"Renting in Providence puts city councilors in precarious situations." That was the Providence Journal's leading headline a few days ago, as the legislature waited for Governor Daniel McKee to sign a pile of housing-related bills (Update: He signed them all). Rhode Island doesn't have a superstar … [Read more...]

What’s Scott Alexander asking, anyway?

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In a pair of posts, Scott Alexander goads his mostly-YIMBY readers by claiming to believe that density is likely to increase prices. To quantify his readers' views, he laid out a thought experiment in a Google poll, the results of which we'll no doubt see in a few days. You can see the poll - … [Read more...]

Rent regulation in MoCo

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In my home county, Montgomery County, Maryland, rent control is on the agenda after County Executive Marc Elrich and a county council majority each released competing proposals to cap annual rent increases. Adam Pagnucco responded with a series of posts at Montgomery Perspective about the … [Read more...]

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