I am happy to announce that my new book "Government Intervention and Suburban Sprawl: The Case for Market Urbanism" is now available at Amazon. There is a "look inside the book" feature at the book's Amazon webpage for those who would like to know more.I would like to thank not just the readers … [Read more...]
Urban Mass Transit Out Of Suburban Sprawl
The economist F.A. Hayek explained why it’s impossible for human reason to successfully design complex systems such as markets or language. One can’t simply say, “Hey, I’d like to invent a Germanic language that does away with those troublesome genders and inflections but has plenty of Latin- and … [Read more...]
Thoughts On Today’s Emily Hamilton Vs. Randal O’Toole Cato Discussion
Because of work obligations, I listened to only about a third of today's Cato Institute discussion on urban sprawl. I heard some of Randall O'Toole's talk and some of the question-and-answer period.O’Toole said high housing prices don’t correlate with “zoning” just with “growth constraints.” … [Read more...]
Joel Kotkin’s New Book Lays Out His Sprawling Vision For America
Also read my other post about Kotkin's book: NIMBYism as an Argument Against Urbanism Traditionally, defenders of suburban sprawl have been skittish about proclaiming that government should promote sprawl and halt infill development. Instead, they have taken a libertarian tack, arguing that … [Read more...]
The Demand Curve For Sprawl Slopes Downward
Suburbs have been around for as long as there have been urbs – cities, that is – a fact Robert Bruegmann reminds us of in his excellent book Sprawl. And as sociologist Max Weber in The City and historian Henri Pirenne in Medieval Cities remind us, it’s often in the younger, freer suburbs rather … [Read more...]
Your Town Is A Financial Timebomb
I keep up with the reports and journalists proclaiming that America’s suburbs are thriving and will continue to do so forever. Yet I keep scratching my head since these depictions are in conflict with what I keep seeing on the ground as I travel around the country.The folks who … [Read more...]
Exclusionary Zoning and “Inclusionary Zoning” Don’t Mix
Inclusionary Zoning is an Oxymoron The term “Inclusionary Zoning” gives a nod to the fact that zoning is inherently exclusionary, but pretends to be somehow different. Given that, by definition, zoning is exclusionary, Inclusionary Zoning completely within the exclusionary paradigm is synonymous … [Read more...]
High Rent Sucks. Let’s Build More Houses.
LA rent sucks. It’s way, way too damn high. Let’s fix it.If you rent, you’re probably already on board. You gotta pay the man on the 1st of the month, every month, and that sucks. But what if you are the man? You’ve got the sweet house, the trophy husband, the picket fence. Even then, you should … [Read more...]