Alain Bertaud is probably the most interesting urbanist you've haven't heard about. He is a senior researcher at the NYU Stern Urbanization Project next to names such as Paul Romer and Solly Angel. Bertaud used to be the lead urbanist at the World Bank, and Ed Glaeser has said that everything he … [Read more...]
The benefits of the market in both infrastructure and urbanism
Alain Bertaud, a senior research scholar at the Urbanization Project, has had a long career in urban planning, and many of his writings have a market urbanist flavor. He is currently working a book called Order Without Design, and last year he published an excerpt from that book called "The … [Read more...]
Planned Manufacturing Districts: Planning the Life Out of Districts
They are called different things in different cities, but they are similar in form and intent among the cities where they are found. For simplicity's sake, a Planned Manufacturing District (PMD), as they are called in Chicago, is an area of land, defined by zoning, that prohibits residential … [Read more...]
The Status of Smart Growth Regulation
Debates over land use policy often devolve into opponents arguing over how to interpret the same set of facts. For example, "market suburbanists" argue that because apartments in walkable neighborhoods tend to cost more per square foot than suburban single family homes, high densities make coastal … [Read more...]
How Hong Kong Pulls Off Transit Oriented Development
Integrating rail and property development is the cornerstone of the MTR’s success. In the U.S., coordination between transit authorities and developers tends to be mediocre at best. In Hong Kong, however, the MTR is both the transit authority as well as the property owner, and this makes all the … [Read more...]
How Land Prices Obviate the Need for Euclidean Zoning
Yesterday, Reason TV released a video comparing Houston with more heavily regulated East Coast cities, explaining that Houston's relatively lax land use regulations contribute to its housing costs that are much lower than in other large cities. While the video paints an exaggerated picture of … [Read more...]
Glamour in streetscapes
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...]
Urban-Rural Political Alliances Hurt Cities
While House Republicans have stripped food stamp benefits from the farm bill to get enough votes to pass the bill's agricultural supports, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program may be added back into the bill in conference with the Senate. The farm bill get its strength because it aligns … [Read more...]