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“Market Urbanism” refers to the synthesis of classical liberal economics and ethics (market), with an appreciation of the urban way of life and its benefits to society (urbanism). We advocate for the emergence of bottom up solutions to urban issues, as opposed to ones imposed from the top down.

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  • What Should I Read to Understand Zoning?

Is Zoning Popular? Reevaluating the Evidence

January 25, 2018 By Nolan Gray

New Brunswick, NJ Zoning Map

In my regular discussions of U.S. zoning, I often hear a defense that goes something like this: “You may have concerns about zoning, but it sure is popular with the American people. After all, every state has approved of zoning and virtually every city in the country has implemented zoning.”One … [Read more...]

Filed Under: history, planning, Urban[ism] Legends, zoning Tagged With: Chicago, euclidian zoning, history of planning, Houston, new york, planning, racial segregation, scpea, St. Louis, szea, zoning

Urban[ism] Legend: The “Geographically Constrained Cities” Fantasy

October 22, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

geographic constraints

One common argument against building new urban housing is that cities are geographically constrained by their natural and political boundaries, and thus can never build enough housing to bring prices down.  This claim rests on a variety of false assumptions.The first false assumption is that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, Michael Lewyn, Urban[ism] Legends

NIMBY Contradictions

August 14, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

Ever since zoning was invented in the 1920s, homeowners have argued that limits on density and on multifamily housing are necessary to protect property values.  But today, urban NIMBYs seek to prevent new housing on the ground that new housing will lead to gentrification, which will in turn lead to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, Michael Lewyn, NIMBYism, Urban[ism] Legends Tagged With: housing affordability, NIMBY

More on “Empty Houses”

July 18, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

I recently saw a Facebook post asserting that San Francisco has 30,000 vacant units, so therefore no market-rate housing should be built.   So I looked up Census data on these allegedly empty units.It is true, according to the Census Factfinder website, that there are 30,000 or so unoccupied … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, Urban[ism] Legends Tagged With: San Francisco, vacant houses

The “Empty House” Theory

May 26, 2017 By Michael Lewyn

One common argument against new urban housing runs as follows: "If we build new housing, it will all be bought up by rich investors who will sit on it.  So new supply doesn't restrain housing costs."  This argument (at least as I have phrased it) strikes me as absurd.  Here's why: for the argument … [Read more...]

Filed Under: housing, Michael Lewyn, NIMBYism, Urban[ism] Legends Tagged With: housing crisis, housing market

Urban[ism] Legend: A Home Is A Good Investment

September 13, 2016 By Emily Hamilton

Despite its poor track record, homeownership is the bad investment idea that never seems to die. Even though the financial crisis revealed the risks that homeowners take on by making highly leveraged purchases, policymakers are still developing new programs to encourage home buying. Both the Clinton … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, housing, Urban[ism] Legends

What is wrong with “How to Make an Attractive City”

May 12, 2015 By Anthony Ling

“How to Make an Attractive City”, a video by The School of Life, recently gained attention in social media. Well presented and pretty much aligned with today’s mainstream urbanism, the video earned plenty of shares and few critiques. This is probably the first critique you may read.The video is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Jane Jacobs, Places & Spaces, planning, Policy, preservation, Urban[ism] Legends Tagged With: alain bertaud, architecture, paul romer, school of life

Urban[ism] Legend: The Free Market Can’t Provide Affordable Housing

March 13, 2015 By Adam Hengels

Over at Greater Greater Washington, Ms. Cheryl Cort attempts to temper expectations of what she calls the “libertarian view (a more right-leaning view in our region)” on affordable housing.  It is certainly reassuring to see the cosmopolitan left and the pro-market right begin to warm to the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Economics, housing, Urban[ism] Legends, zoning Tagged With: affordable housing, dc, density, Economics, filtering, Free-market, housing, inclusionary zoning, zoning

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