Twitter tells me that earlier tonight, “not-ruling-it-out” possible future mayoral contender (and local smart growth demigod) Tommy Wells held his inaugural book club meeting; the book discussed was Ed Glaeser’s Triumph of the City. DC’s chief planner Harriet Tregoning was … [Read more...]
The Progressive Reaction Against NYC’s First Subway
nycsubway.org has an amazing trove of transit history, and I just got done reading “The Impact of the IRT on New York City” by Clifton Hood, on the effects of New York‘s first subway rapid transit line, first opened in 1904. There’s so much in it to recommend, but one of the … [Read more...]
Meet Me At The Corner Of Mises & Jane Jacobs!
I'On Village, South Carolina About three years ago Adam wrote about the the story of I’On Village, a New Urbanist development build about a decade ago five miles outside of Charleston, and the difficulties that Vince Graham faced trying to build it. For one, the project had to be scaled … [Read more...]
Why DC’s Architecture Is So Boring
An Eric Colbert special, everywhere and anywhere in DC I’m a little behind on posting this, but Lydia DePillis at Washington City Paper did a great profile a week or so ago of DC architect Eric Colbert, whose buildings’ unifying features seems to be blandness. There are a lot of people … [Read more...]
The Day the Engineers Turned Against California HSR
No, but really – fly California. On Tuesday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority laid down their cards in the form of a new “business plan” for the proposed line, and its cards are not good – the system is now projected to cost $98 billion in year-of-expenditure dollars, which, … [Read more...]
Should Government Own Wilderness?
I found a link to a great article at FreeColorado.com. It doesn't apply to urbanism specifically, but conceptually deals with privatization of publicly owned land. Free Colorado - Should Government Own Wilderness? The original article was from Grand Junction Free Press - Armstrong Column: … [Read more...]
Rent Control Part 4: Conclusion and Solutions
Welcome to the final post in the series discussing the consequences of rent control. Thank you to the subscribers who have patiently awaited each new post. I hope everyone found it enlightening. If you haven't read the entire series, you can catch up with these links: Rent Control Part One: … [Read more...]
Bribery for Property Rights: Federal Charges in Chicago
NBC5 has an update listing the people involved and video here: New Corruption Charges Hit Building, Zoning Departments Chicago Tribune: U.S. to announce charges against 15 in city bribe-taking probe (thanks to Dan M. for the tip) Federal authorities are set to announce charges Thursday against … [Read more...]