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.

Are the new carbon footprint maps accurate?

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It's pretty obvious that people use less energy when they live in urban areas versus suburbs: they take fewer and shorter drives and they heat and cool less square footage per person. But can that be quantified accurately at a local level and compared across disparate places? Maybe. A recent … [Read more...]

Wanted: Market urbanist research assistant

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Ever wondered how you could make your urbanism hobby a full-time job? Come work with me & Emily Hamilton at the Mercatus Center's Urbanity project: Are you a gritty, liberty-minded researcher who is passionate about cities? This is a unique opportunity for an aspiring scholar to develop a … [Read more...]

Before YIMBY

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In an encouraging post this morning, Matt Yglesias - one of the O.G. YIMBYs - summed up 10 years of success since his book, The Rent Is Too Damn High, was published. If you'd asked me, I'd have guessed that Too Damn High was published in 2015 or 2016, when YIMBY was in its infancy and researchers … [Read more...]

Rent Control is How the Rich Outbid Less-Affluent People for Valuable Land

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Several homes in my neighborhood have sold recently, each more expensive than the last. The priciest was a lovely home that drew $1.65 million at the peak of this spring's market. Takoma Park is a great place to live. It's also the only jurisdiction in the region that has rent control. As a … [Read more...]

Unpacking Emergent Tokyo with author Jorge Almazán

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In my previous post, I reviewed an old book on Japan while teasing a new one: If you read one book about Japan this year, it should be the beautiful, new Emergent Tokyo: Designing the Spontaneous City by Jorge Almazan and his Studiolab colleagues, including Joe McReynolds. But if you read … [Read more...]

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