Ilya Somin at Volokh - Causes of the Defeat of Proposition 98There 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...]
“Cockamamie” Neighborhood Zones
Thanks to loyal reader, DBM for the tip on the photo link.David Weigel - Highway to the Neighborhood Zones refers to DCist - Police to Seal Off D.C. Neighborhoods The Examiner has the scoop on a controversial new program announced today that would create so-called "Neighborhood Safety Zones" … [Read more...]
Somin: Prop 99 Worse Than Nothing
Ilya Somin at Volokh: Why California's Proposition 99 is a Lot Worse than NothingYesterday's California returns show that Proposition 98 - the referendum initiative that would have imposed real restrictions on eminent domain and also phased out rent control - has been overwhelmingly defeated by … [Read more...]
Carroll Gardens, Choose Only One: Setback or Height Restriction?
NY Times - Carroll Gardens: The Big Front Yards That Rob the StreetsAlthough the yards serve as leafy margins to the streets, creating ample open space between the rows of brownstones arrayed on either side, they also put those streets into the “wide” category for zoning purposes. This means … [Read more...]
Roads: US vs Europe
Pick Your Road: The U.S. vs. Europe, by Bryan CaplanIn the U.S., we have low gas taxes, low car taxes, few tolls, strict zoning that leads developers to provide lots of free parking, low speed limits, lots of traffic enforcement, and lots of congestion.In Europe (France and Germany … [Read more...]
Somin: Prop 98 Likely to Fail, 99 to Pass
Ilya Somin at Volokh: Polls on California Eminent Domain Ballot Initiatives Show Prop 98 Likely to Fail and Prop 99 Likely to Pass:In a recent Field Poll cited in the article, Proposition 98 was losing by 43 to 33 percent among "likely voters," while Proposition 99 was ahead by 48 to 30 … [Read more...]
World’s Most Impressive Subways
WIRED - Gallery: The World's Most Impressive Subwaysphoto of DC Subway by flickr user JerryHayesAustin, although DC was not included in WIRED's gallery. … [Read more...]
Thank you Lynne Kiesling
Yesterday, Lynne Kiesling of Northwestern University encouraged readers of her popular economics blog, Knowledge Problem to visit Market Urbanism.The link generated the highest day of traffic to date. I hope visitors find Market Urbanism interesting and return often. Thank you for visiting … [Read more...]