Market Urbanism

Liberalizing cities | From the bottom up

“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.

Weekend Reading: Jane Jacobs, Agglomeration, Farms, NIMBY Songs

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During my early college studies in Architecture and Urban Design, I became loosely familiar with the ideas of Jane Jacobs, one of the most celebrated urbanist intellectuals. Sanford Ikeda’s FEE lectures [mp3] have inspired me to learn more about Jane Jacobs from a Free Market Urbanism point of view. Here’s an article by Professors Ikeda and Gene Callahan I added to the links page: Jane Jacobs, The Anti-Planner

Jane Jacobs is one of those intellectuals who seem ever on the periphery of the libertarian movement. Her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, can be found on the shelves of many a libertarian, though often unread. Perhaps this is because her name tends to be associated with leftish intellectuals who decry the rise of the suburbs and the decline of the downtowns, even though Jacobs strongly resists being labeled by any ideological movement, left, right, or other.

What is not commonly known, however, is that her works are full of arguments and insights on the economic nature of communities, on central planning, and on ethics that libertarians would find original and enlightening.

In the works of Jacobs, the order present in a well-functioning urban area emerges as the result of human action but not human design. It arises from a myriad of individuals each pursuing their own interest and carrying out their own plans, within a framework of rules that encourages peaceful cooperation over violent aggression.

I have added Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities
 to my list of books to read. In fact, I bumped it to next in line. Hopefully her ideas will inspire a series of fresh blog posts.
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Mathew Kahn tipped us off to proceedings from a conference on The Economics of Agglomeration edited by Harvard Urban Economist Ed Glaeser.
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Economist – An Arable Parable: Is Farmland Undervalued?

With many financial assets in the doldrums and markets spooked by the twin spectres of economic weakness and rising inflation, is it time to head for the hills? Barton Biggs, an investment guru, famously suggested that those wishing to preserve their wealth in times of turmoil should consider buying an “unostentatious farm”. And rural land has long been seen as a good inflation hedge.

But now may not be the most opportune time for investors to swap their wingtips for wellies. After more than two decades in the mire, the value of farmland has soared over the past few years on the back of strong prices for agricultural commodities, low interest rates and urban sprawl. It has become so fashionable that some wonder if it is a bubble waiting to burst.

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Brian J. Phillips – NIMBY Songs

The real issue is how to resolve such issues. More and more often, the home owners run to government and seek some law that will prohibit the proposed project. They reject the concept of property rights and seek to impose their values upon the rightful property owner. They reject voluntary, consensual interactions between individuals and seek to substitute the coercive power of government.

  • anonymous

    I suppose I belong in the group of people with an unread copy of Death and Life on their bookshelves. However, I think The Economy of Cities is one of the most brilliant, insightful books I’ve ever read… not to mention Ed Glaeser and others cite it a lot.

  • anonymous

    I suppose I belong in the group of people with an unread copy of Death and Life on their bookshelves. However, I think The Economy of Cities is one of the most brilliant, insightful books I’ve ever read… not to mention Ed Glaeser and others cite it a lot.

  • Thanks! I’ll check that out too…

  • Thanks! I’ll check that out too…

  • Benjamin Hemric

    I just read about the “Market Urbanism” blog on Sandy Ikeda’s “Culture of Congestion” blog, and I eagerly look forward to reading more your blog.

    I’m a great admirer of Jane Jacobs, having read all seven of her major works, and I think you will find useful material in all seven of them actually. I’d particularly like to recommend, though, “The Nature of Economies” (2000) as an adjunct to (or, maybe, even as a “preface” to) “The Economy of Cities.” Although, it was written many years after “The Economy of Cities” (1969) (and, in fact, I read it many years after I read “The Economy of Cities”), it seems to me that it might nicely serve as a helpful (and entertaining) “intoduction” to the earlier book — giving the reader a better overall idea of what Jacobs was “really” trying to get at when she wrote the earlier (and longer, more detailed and comprehensive) book.

    Also it seeems to me that “Systems of Survival,” written just before “The Nature of Economies” and with the same cast of characters (both books are something like novellas — although they are more formally called “dialogues”), has some significant things to say about market urbanism too.

    But whatever other Jacobs books you read, and whatever the order, I do think it is important to read more than just “Death and Life of Great American Cities” in order to get a true picture of what Jane Jacobs was really getting at in her first, and most famous book — and so few of her admirers seem to do this. (If someone is going to read just one additional book, though, I agree that, “The Economy of Cities,” probably should be it.)

  • Benjamin Hemric

    I just read about the “Market Urbanism” blog on Sandy Ikeda’s “Culture of Congestion” blog, and I eagerly look forward to reading more your blog.

    I’m a great admirer of Jane Jacobs, having read all seven of her major works, and I think you will find useful material in all seven of them actually. I’d particularly like to recommend, though, “The Nature of Economies” (2000) as an adjunct to (or, maybe, even as a “preface” to) “The Economy of Cities.” Although, it was written many years after “The Economy of Cities” (1969) (and, in fact, I read it many years after I read “The Economy of Cities”), it seems to me that it might nicely serve as a helpful (and entertaining) “intoduction” to the earlier book — giving the reader a better overall idea of what Jacobs was “really” trying to get at when she wrote the earlier (and longer, more detailed and comprehensive) book.

    Also it seeems to me that “Systems of Survival,” written just before “The Nature of Economies” and with the same cast of characters (both books are something like novellas — although they are more formally called “dialogues”), has some significant things to say about market urbanism too.

    But whatever other Jacobs books you read, and whatever the order, I do think it is important to read more than just “Death and Life of Great American Cities” in order to get a true picture of what Jane Jacobs was really getting at in her first, and most famous book — and so few of her admirers seem to do this. (If someone is going to read just one additional book, though, I agree that, “The Economy of Cities,” probably should be it.)

  • Thanks Benjamin!
    Looks like I have lots of reading to do. Do you know if any of them are available in audio form? (I like to listen to books while I run.)

  • Thanks Benjamin!
    Looks like I have lots of reading to do. Do you know if any of them are available in audio form? (I like to listen to books while I run.)

  • Benjamin Hemric

    Wow! What a quick response!

    Sorry, I don’t know if any of them are in audio book form or not. (I think audio books are great. Years ago, I used audio books as a “different” — and eye resting — way to catch up on a lot of the classics that I had never had gotten around to reading.)

    But for someone like yourself, who apparently has never actually read Jacobs (but has only heard about her), I’d like to emphasize that she’s a JOY to read — probably one of the most “readable” writers of non-fiction there is. And, in particular, her books on economics are miles and miles ahead of most other books on economics in terms of readability. (I can easily see people reading her just for the fun of it.)

    By the way, I first read “Death and Life of Great American Cities” when I was sixteen years old — at a time when I was still, to a certain extent, judging books by the number of pages that they had — and was somewhat daunted by the book’s length (which seemed perhaps especially formidable in its original hardcover edition). (The only reason I went ahead, I think, was because I had read an excerpt of the book in “Readers Digest” and it was so enjoyable.) As it turned out, the book was a real page turner, and I raced through it, and wound up reading it twice in a month’s time (to better be able to write about it for a freshman English “book review”). (There are only a few chapters, here and there, that were a bit slow going — not because they were poorly written, but because at that time in my life I wasn’t particularly interested in that part of the topic. But I do strongly suggest that people read “Death and Life” all the way through — particularly the seemingly often overlooked last chapter — as I think people will otherwise be missing and/or misunderstanding some very important aspects of her work.

  • Benjamin Hemric

    Wow! What a quick response!

    Sorry, I don’t know if any of them are in audio book form or not. (I think audio books are great. Years ago, I used audio books as a “different” — and eye resting — way to catch up on a lot of the classics that I had never had gotten around to reading.)

    But for someone like yourself, who apparently has never actually read Jacobs (but has only heard about her), I’d like to emphasize that she’s a JOY to read — probably one of the most “readable” writers of non-fiction there is. And, in particular, her books on economics are miles and miles ahead of most other books on economics in terms of readability. (I can easily see people reading her just for the fun of it.)

    By the way, I first read “Death and Life of Great American Cities” when I was sixteen years old — at a time when I was still, to a certain extent, judging books by the number of pages that they had — and was somewhat daunted by the book’s length (which seemed perhaps especially formidable in its original hardcover edition). (The only reason I went ahead, I think, was because I had read an excerpt of the book in “Readers Digest” and it was so enjoyable.) As it turned out, the book was a real page turner, and I raced through it, and wound up reading it twice in a month’s time (to better be able to write about it for a freshman English “book review”). (There are only a few chapters, here and there, that were a bit slow going — not because they were poorly written, but because at that time in my life I wasn’t particularly interested in that part of the topic. But I do strongly suggest that people read “Death and Life” all the way through — particularly the seemingly often overlooked last chapter — as I think people will otherwise be missing and/or misunderstanding some very important aspects of her work.

  • I picked up Death and Life of Great American Cities yesterday and began reading. So far, I am enjoying it.

  • I picked up Death and Life of Great American Cities yesterday and began reading. So far, I am enjoying it.

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