It is because every individual knows little and, in particular, because we rarely know which of us knows best that we trust the independent and competitive efforts of many to induce the emergence of what we shall want when we see it.— Friedrich Hayek, The Constitution of Liberty Imagine the … [Read more...]
7 Reasons To Oppose Los Angeles’ Neighborhood Integrity Initiative
[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...]
How Lexington Can Expand Affordable Housing (Without Touching the UGB)
Lexington, Kentucky is a wonderful place, and that’s getting to be a problem. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with the city: its urban amenities, thriving information economy, and unique local culture have brought in throngs of economic migrants from locales as exotic as Appalachia, … [Read more...]
Same Old Story: How Planners Continue to Drive Gentrification
Planners, like all professions, have their own useful mythologies. A popular one goes something like this: “Many years ago, us planners did naughty things. We pushed around the poor, demolished minority neighborhoods, and forced gentrification. But that’s all over today. Now we protect the … [Read more...]
China’s “Planned Capitalism” Kills Wealth
Sometimes, prosperity is an illusion. The massive building boom in the People’s Republic of China is creating outer signs of affluence, but there isn’t enough demand to put residents in the new homes.As in many similar urban projects across the country, the Chinese government has been … [Read more...]
Private Neighborhoods And The Transformation Of Local Government
Urban Institute Press • 2005 • 494 pages • $32.50 paperbackIn Private Neighborhoods and the Transformation of Local Government, Robert H. Nelson effectively frames the discussion of what minimal government might look like in terms of personal choices based on local knowledge. He looks at the … [Read more...]
Episode 04: Anthony Ling on Brazilian Cities and the Future of Transportation
My guest this week is Anthony Ling. Anthony is founder and editor of Caos Planejado, a Brazilian website on cities and urban planning. He also founded Bora, a transportation technology startup and is currently an MBA candidate at Stanford University. He graduated Architecture and Urban Planning at … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Well-Tempered City
This book review is part of a TLC Book Tour.The Well-Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations, and Human Nature Teach Us About the Future of Urban Lifeby Jonathan F. P. Rose In The Well-Tempered City, real estate developer Jonathan F. P. Rose offers a … [Read more...]