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Category Law

The Progressive Reaction Against NYC’s First Subway

nycsubway.org has an amazing trove of transit history, and I just got done reading “The Impact of the IRT on New York City” by Clifton Hood, on the effects of New York‘s first subway rapid transit line, first opened in 1904. There’s so much in it to recommend, but one of the interesting themes is the Progressive reaction to the real estate development that the line (he mostly deals with the IRT Broadway Line) sparked. Progressives were originally big supporters of the subway, on the grounds that it would encourage suburbanization and decentralization, putting people in their own homes, which they believed imbued better moral character than rented accommodations in tenements and large “apartment houses….

Meet Me At The Corner Of Mises & Jane Jacobs!

I'On Village, South Carolina About three years ago Adam wrote about the the story of I’On Village, a New Urbanist development build about a decade ago five miles outside of Charleston, and the difficulties that Vince Graham faced trying to build it. For one, the project had to be scaled down in some pretty significant ways: [The developers] worked to decipher what kind of plan would be supported by those council members who voted against the application….

New York City Planners: Pack ‘Em In!

Do New Yorkers need to cram into cubbyholes to bring prices down? At a recent conference organized by the Citizens Housing and Planning Council (covered by the New York Times, Crain’s, and City Limits), we heard a familiar refrain about New York City’s building stock: regulations have not kept up with the times, and there is a shortage of affordable units available for single adults, in particular. The result is widespread illegal conversions and dwellings – anywhere from 100,000 to 500,000, depending on who you ask – which, while mostly tolerated, are obviously not ideal, especially with regards to fire safety….

Why Preserve a Broken Cornice Line?

There’s a lot that bothers me about preservation policy, but one of the weirdest has to be rules that make it difficult to fill in gaps in building height. I’m not a big fan of the idea that historic neighborhoods have to stay the same “scale” forever, but it boggles my mind that people can both support keeping neighborhoods “in scale,” but oppose people who want to bring a building up to the neighborhood’s scale. 33 Bond, practically begging for more height …

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