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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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  • What Should I Read to Understand Zoning?

This is how gentrification happens: Northwest DC and the height restriction

December 16, 2010 By Stephen Smith

Lydia DePillis wrote the Washington City Paper's cover story on the case for Congress overturning DC's height limit, which should be very familiar to readers of this blog. It's got some interesting history in it (DC's height limit was apparently influenced by George Washington's personal aesthetics, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, Gentrification, history, housing, planning, zoning Tagged With: dc, density, gentrification, height restriction, race issues, zoning

The Great American Streetcar Myth

September 23, 2010 By Stephen Smith

by Stephen SmithAmong liberals in the planning profession today, the story of the Great American Streetcar Conspiracy is widely known. There are more nuanced variants, but it goes something like this: Streetcars were once plentiful and efficient, but then along came a bunch of car and oil … [Read more...]

Filed Under: history, infrastructure, Logistics & Transportation, Transportation Tagged With: highways, mass transit, progressivism, Stephen Smith, transit

Exporting (sub)urbanism: Kuala Lumpur and the communist world

September 4, 2010 By Stephen Smith

by Stephen SmithAdam Martin at William Easterly's development blog Aid Watch has a post up warning about the tendency among developing nations to adopt Western styles wholesale, even if such styles are not even efficient in their countries of origin. He posits this as a sort of developmental … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, history, planning Tagged With: Bucharest, Garden City, Kuala Lumpur, Le Corbusier, Moscow, Pyongyang, Stephen Smith

Zoning as a Tool of Class Exclusion

August 22, 2009 By Stephen Smith

In regards to zoning, Discovering Urbanism has a nice post up about early 20th century urban planner Charles Mulford Robinson and his planning textbook.  It includes the following corrective to the notion that zoning originated as a way to separate polluting industry from places of residence and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: history, planning, zoning Tagged With: Charles Mulford Robinson, class conflict, planning, Stephen Smith, zoning

Rothbard the Urbanist Part 4: Policing

August 3, 2009 By Adam Hengels

I apologize for the extended delay between posts.  Personal (newborn) and professional priorities have prevented me from having the free time I once had. Unfortunately posts will probably continue to be sporadic until things settle down a little.We are now at Part 4 in the multi-part series … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, history, privatization, Rothbard The Urbanist, Transportation Tagged With: For a New Liberty, Harlem, Murray Rothbard, police, railways, sidewalks

Intro to Emergent Urbanism

March 31, 2009 By Adam Hengels

Mathieu Helie has been writing at a blog he calls Emergent Urbanism.  His most recent post is the first part of a series that will be published as an entire article entitled “The Principles of Emergent Urbanism” at International Journal of Architectural Research. This first part of the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, history, Jane Jacobs Tagged With: emergent urbanism, Hayek, Jane Jacobs, spontaneous order

What Would Moses Do? (Robert Moses, that is…)

March 23, 2009 By Adam Hengels

(Map of Robert Moses' unbuilt proposals via “vanshnookenraggen.”) Sandy Ikeda blogs: If Moses were around today I don’t think he’d waste any time getting every major project he could think of “shovel ready” for hundreds of billions of stimulus money. While he’s no longer with us, I do fear … [Read more...]

Filed Under: corruption, history, infrastructure Tagged With: Author: Sandy Ikeda, infrastructure, nyc, robert moses, stimulus

Urban[ism] Legend: The Myth of Herbert Hoover

February 12, 2009 By Adam Hengels

Herbert Hoover is not a man I consider a "Legend" - quite the contrary.  I use the words "Urbanism Legend" in the context of the series of posts intended to dispel popular myths as they relate to urbanism.Myths and fallacies about Herbert Hoover are abundant these days as the media discusses the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: history, planning, Urban[ism] Legends, zoning Tagged With: Euclidean, great depression, Herbert Hoover, highways, planning, progressivism, property rights, zoning

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