Emily Hamilton

I was first introduced to Jane Jacobs while working as an intern in the Planning Department of my hometown in Colorado. Her work enlightened me to the power of market forces to benefit all city dwellers without government intervention. Since then, I have become fascinated by the urban emergent order that creates our cities.

I graduated with a Masters in economics from George Mason University in 2010 after finishing my undergraduate degree at Goucher College in 2008. While at GMU, I worked as a Research Associate at the university’s Mercatus Center. After a brief time working elsewhere, I returned to the Mercatus Center to write for Neighborhood Effects about state and local policy issues.

Contact me at emilybwashington@gmail.com

Book Review of The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper

November 30, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

I’m reviewing The Heights: Anatomy of the Skyscraper by Kate Ascher as part of a TLC Book Tour. Other bloggers are also reviewing the book, and you can find links to their reviews here. I received a complimentary copy of the book, and I’d like to send it to a reader if anyone is interested in … [Read more...]

Cities and the Market Process: Part 3

November 28, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

This series looks at some of the ways that people organize themselves to live alongside each other in cities. Part 1 looks at inherent problems with top-down planning, and Part 2 looks at the costs of local governments sanctioning collective choice. From this negative start, I'd like to turn to some … [Read more...]

TGIF Links

November 18, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

1. A reader from Vancouver wrote in to let Stephen and me know about a proposed policy to tax foreign investors at a higher rate than local property owners. Support for this policy is growing among residents, and with a mayoral election this Saturday, some are hoping to get candidates to endorse the … [Read more...]

Some Belated Thoughts on The Gated City

November 16, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

Several bloggers have already provided reviews of The Gated City by Ryan Avent, including Aaron Renn at The Urbanophile, Rob Pitingol at Greater Greater Washington, and Lloyd Alter at Tree Hugger. I've finally had a chance to read it and would thoroughly recommend it.I often support increased … [Read more...]

11/11/11 Day Links

November 11, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

1. Several people including Lydia DePillis, Charlie Gardner, and Steve Stofka have discussed the emergent order that we can see in the Occupy settlements. Similarly this video shows a beautiful illustration of the spontaneous urban development at Burning Man.2. The Atlantic Cities features the … [Read more...]

Cities and the Tax Code

November 7, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

We spend a lot of time here talking about the local regulations that harm cities, from parking minimums, to height limits to restrictions on mixed-use development. I've been thinking recently about another policy that impacts cities at the federal level: the tax code. I bring up this topic not to … [Read more...]

Midweek Links and Business

November 2, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

1. Stephen writes at The Atlantic Cities on Japan's largely privatized rail system. He points out that free market reforms have benefited both cities and transit there.2. For readers in the DC area, the Urban Land Institute is holding Capital Markets Interchange in McLean on November 10th. The … [Read more...]

Cities and the Market Process: Part 2

November 1, 2011 By Emily Hamilton

In the first post of this little series, I addressed the problems of top down land use regulation through the lens of Austrian economics. Because cities contain public space and infrastructure that is used by many residents and cannot be bought and sold in the way that many goods can be, Alon Levy … [Read more...]