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...]
Archives for November 2016
Private Neighborhoods And The Transformation Of Local Government
Urban Institute Press • 2005 • 494 pages • $32.50 paperbackIn Private Neighborhoods and the Transformation of Local Government, Robert H. Nelson effectively frames the discussion of what minimal government might look like in terms of personal choices based on local knowledge. He looks at the … [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...]
One Reason Why Subsidies Aren’t the (Only) Solution
I was rereading the Obama Administration's surprisingly market-oriented policy paper on zoning and affordable housing, and saw one good point that I had never really thought about.One common anti-development argument is that government should subsidize housing for the poor instead of allowing … [Read more...]
The Urban Origins of Liberty
In The Road to Serfdom, F. A. Hayek tells us that intellectuals and governments in the twentieth century tragically abandoned the road to liberty in pursuit of collectivist utopias. That road stretched at least as far back as the democratic polis of ancient Greece, but it was not always straight … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism MUsings November 18, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbansim: America’s Progressive Developers–The Uptown Gateway Council by Scott BeyerSan Diego, too, may be subject to this downzoning trend. Like California’s other destination cities, San Diego has both a fast-growing population, and restrictive land-use … [Read more...]
The Psychological Consequences Of Rent Control
The University of Chicago Press has published a “definitive” edition of F. A. Hayek’s The Constitution of Liberty under the editorial guidance of long-time Hayek scholar Ronald Hamowy. Given my interest in urban issues, it’s a good time for me to focus on chapter 22, “Housing and Town Planning.” It … [Read more...]
Market Urbanism MUsings November 11, 2016
1. This week at Market Urbansim: Preservation At The Expense Of Liberty by Sandy IkedaUsing political power to preserve any cherished way of life — trying to stay the uncertain dynamic that washes through social institutions, norms, and conventions — is not only futile but ultimately … [Read more...]