A while ago I attended an Urban Land Institute event on development trends in Fairfax's Mosaic District. A presenter from the retail developer EDENS described their strategy of adding "sidewalk jewelry," a design technique used to entice shoppers to travel down sidewalks between stores. Having never … [Read more...]
Parking is not a public good
Writers at Salon, Slate, and Time have criticized new San Francisco-based apps that allow users to purchase access to a parking spot as another driver is leaving it. The apps MonkeyParking, Sweetch, and ParkModo provide a platform for drivers to let others know when they're leaving a spot, and … [Read more...]
DC streetcar: Worse than nothing
On Tuesday, DC's city council passed a tax reform package that will cut funding for future streetcar construction. These cuts come as the H Street streetcar delays continue to mount, and much of the commentary supporting the streetcar has shifted from touting its transportation benefits to its … [Read more...]
How Affordable Housing Policies Backfire
Affordable housing policies have a long history of hurting the very people they are said to help. Past decades' practices of building Corbusian public housing that concentrates low-income people in environments that support crime or pursuing "slum clearance" to eliminate housing deemed to be … [Read more...]
Urbanism without government
Asking, "But who will build the roads?" is a cliched response to proposals for a more libertarian political system. However, it leads to the interesting historical question of "Who has built the roads in anarchic societies?" Colonial America provides a few examples that answer this question. Perhaps … [Read more...]
Culs de sac for safety?
At Cato At Liberty, Randall O'Toole provides a list of recommendations for reversing Rust Belt urban decline in response to a study on the topic from the Lincoln Land Institute. He focuses on policies to improve public service provision and deregulation, but he also makes a surprising recommendation … [Read more...]
Los Angeles’ Pedestrian Environment
Last week, Tyler Cowen wrote that Los Angeles is the best city in the world based on several factors, including that it's one of the best cities for walking. While he makes the valid point that LA's beautiful weather gives it an advantage over many other American cities with good walking … [Read more...]
Potential for Voluntary Infrastructure
Last fall I visited Budapest and learned some interesting history of the city's beautiful Chain Bridge. Before 1849, the small cities of Buda and Pest were connected by a temporary bridge that was only viable during warm months. In the winter, the bridge had to be taken down due to ice, making it … [Read more...]