Herbert Hoover is not a man I consider a "Legend" - quite the contrary. I use the words "Urbanism Legend" in the context of the series of posts intended to dispel popular myths as they relate to urbanism. Myths and fallacies about Herbert Hoover are abundant these days as the media discusses the … [Read more...]
Illinois Court Rules Against Chicago’s “Vague” Landmark Ordinance
Chicago Real Estate Daily: An Illinois appellate court has struck down the city of Chicago’s landmarks ordinance, saying it is unconstitutionally vague, putting in jeopardy the city’s protection of more than 250 buildings and 50 historic districts. Judge James Fitzgerald Smith of the three person … [Read more...]
Another Angle on Planning in Houston
Brian Phillips at Live Oaks contacted me regarding the recent post by Stephen Smith on planning in Houston. Brian is a long time opponent of land use restrictions and defender of property rights in Houston. Brian has a different point of view on the subject, and has written a post on his blog, … [Read more...]
The Moral Case Against Rent Control
In Market Urbanism's four part series on rent control, I avoided the topic of the morality of rent control, as I intended to address the economic issues and leave the morality to others. Thankfully, J. Brian Phillips of the Ad Hoc Committee for Property Rights is an expert on the subject. In his … [Read more...]
The Market, Zoning, and Freedom.
J. Brian Phillips wrote a great post at Houston Property Rights about liberal property rights in Houston, but what Brian had to say applies to every place. Here's a snippet, but the entire post deserves a reading: when developers and builders see a need for greater density, they respond … [Read more...]
Economakis Family Threatened by Friends of Rent Control
The Economakis family has been threatened my some members of the community who planned a protest tonight against their family using their own property as a home. See this truly despicable flyer calling friends of rent control to arms. [image from curbed] Here's Mr. Economakis' … [Read more...]
Historic Preservation Can Work in the Marketplace
Houston Strategies - Historic preservation should be a neighborhood choice "In Houston's Old Sixth Ward, the city's first fully protected district, property values have shot up 27 percent in the last year. When given the chance, historic preservation works." This is great news! It means there … [Read more...]
Somin: Causes of the Defeat of Prop 98
Ilya Somin at Volokh - Causes of the Defeat of Proposition 98 There were two major causes of Prop 98's defeat. One was the sponsors' mistake in combining the popular cause of restricting eminent domain with a far less popular phaseout of rent control. The second and more unusual cause of 98's … [Read more...]