There are many ways to tell the story of urban-policy failure. Economists have shown how rent control creates housing shortages, sociologists how welfare programs destroy poor communities, and urbanologists how urban planning can debilitate cities. In his book The Future Once Happened Here, … [Read more...]
Search Results for: jane jacobs
Of Maps and Modernism
This year, for the first time since 1979, New York City has revamped its subway map. A quick glance shows a change in the background tinge from light tan to light green – most pleasant. To my relief, however, on closer inspection nothing essential has changed from the last version. Thank goodness … [Read more...]
Governing The Traffic Commons
As an economics professor, I often witness the surprise of my students when I explain how something as important as the market for food or clothing is self-regulating. True, there are quality and safety regulations that attempt to control potential hazards “around the edges” of these vital markets, … [Read more...]
Are “Charter Cities” a Solution?
Stanford economist Paul Romer has proposed an intriguing concept: the “charter city.” A charter city is a newly created city governed by a country other than the one within whose borders it exists. Its residents would remain citizens of the home country.Romer offers Hong Kong as an example when … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism MUsings, December 9, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbansim: China’s “Planned Capitalism” Kills Wealth by Sandy IkedaChina’s central planners haven’t even begun to appreciate, let alone practice, the lessons of the great urbanist Jane Jacobs, who viewed cities and the socioeconomic processes that go on in them … [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...]
Market Urbanism MUsings November 25, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbansim: The Urban Origins of Liberty by Sandy IkedaOnly in the commercial society of the cities, which then as today attracted the ambitious, the talented, and the misfit, did liberty have a real meaning and substance. Only if you can “vote with your feet,” … [Read more...]
Preservation At The Expense Of Liberty
“Everything passes. Nobody gets anything for keeps. And that’s how we’ve got to live.” –Haruki Murakami I feel lucky to live in Brooklyn Heights. It’s been called New York City’s first suburb. It offers easy access to most parts of Manhattan, thanks to the convergence of several … [Read more...]