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“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?

The “Empty House” Theory

May 26, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

One common argument against new urban housing runs as follows: "If we build new housing, it will all be bought up by rich investors who will sit on it.  So new supply doesn't restrain housing costs."  This argument (at least as I have phrased it) strikes me as absurd.  Here's why: for the argument … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, Michael Lewyn, NIMBYism, Urban[ism] Legends Tagged With: housing crisis, housing market

YIMBYism: Its Not Just For Conservatives

May 23, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

Last week, I posted about an attack on YIMBYs (activists who favor less zoning and more housing) that used the term "alt-right"; the authors of that blog post recently doubled down with a slightly more moderate op-ed that still tarred YIMBYs as  "aligned with conservative right-wing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, NIMBYism

An Attack on Market Urbanism

May 15, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

The far-left "TruthOut" web page recently published an attack on YIMBYs,* describing them as an "Alt-Right" group (despite the fact that the Obama Administration is pro-YIMBY).  I was surprised how little substance there was to the article; most of it was various ad-hominem attacks on YIMBY … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Gentrification, housing, Michael Lewyn, NIMBYism, Policy Tagged With: alt-right, San Francisco, truthout, yimby

Richard Florida and Market Urbanism

May 1, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

I just finished reading Richard Florida's new book, The New Urban Crisis.  Florida writes that part of this "crisis" is the exploding cost of housing in some prosperous cities.  Does that make him a market urbanist?  Yes, and no.On the one hand, Florida criticizes existing zoning laws and the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Review, NIMBYism, zoning Tagged With: RIchard Florida, skyscrapers, zoning

Four Warnings For Los Angeles On Measures S

February 18, 2017 By California Palms

The alternative title for this piece was: "Ballot Box Zoning: Where Needed Housing Goes to Die."Next month, Los Angeles will be voting on Measure S, a proposed 2-year policy that will effectively serve as a moratorium on new construction.  That is, Measure S will require a public vote on any new … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, NIMBYism, Policy Tagged With: Los Angeles

Only In California: Twisting an Anti-Exclusionary Law To Rationalize Exclusion

February 8, 2017 By California Palms

As a Market Urbanism reader, you are hopefully fluent in the problems of exclusionary zoning.  If you're new to the term, there are some good pieces on the topic here and here.  Basically: exclusionary zoning is the use of zoning to price people out of a community.  The classic example is minimum … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, NIMBYism, Policy, Uncategorized, zoning

When NIMBYs Use Renters’ Health To Stop Rental Housing

February 1, 2017 By California Palms

Davis, CA, is a small college town a twenty minutes' drive outside of Sacramento (on a good day).  It has a vacancy rate on par with Manhattan despite being surrounded by flat, developable farmland.  Some critics attribute this absurd vacancy rate to Measure R, a ballot initiative approved by Davis … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Environment, housing, NIMBYism, zoning

7 Reasons To Oppose Los Angeles’ Neighborhood Integrity Initiative

January 13, 2017 By Shane Phillips

[This piece was originally published on the site Better Institutions.]On March 7th, Los Angeles is going to vote on the type of city it wants to be.The vote will be over Measure S, formerly known as the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative (NII), which seeks to limit housing development in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, Los Angeles, NIMBYism, planning, zoning

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