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.

The Progressive Roots of Zoning

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by Samuel R StaleyBefore the twentieth century land-use and housing disputes were largely dealt with through courts using the common-law principle of nuisance. In essence if your neighbor put a building, factory, or house on his property in a way that created a measurable and tangible harm, … [Read more...]

The Little-Known History of “Light and Air”

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"Light and air" is a very common excuse that people give for why we must have basic zoning laws, and while nowadays a lot of people mean it simply in an aesthetic sense – another way of saying "I like to be able to look out a window and not see another skyscraper 50 feet away" (though for some … [Read more...]

Hard Truths About Why Conservatives and Libertarians Hate Urbanism

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It's no secret that conservatives and libertarians don't have very warm feelings towards urbanism. But with their emphasis on upzoning and reducing parking minimums, shouldn't new urbanism and smart growth have at least some libertarian constituency? And given that local roads are paid for almost … [Read more...]

The Great American Streetcar Myth

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by Stephen SmithAmong liberals in the planning profession today, the story of the Great American Streetcar Conspiracy is widely known. There are more nuanced variants, but it goes something like this: Streetcars were once plentiful and efficient, but then along came a bunch of car and oil … [Read more...]

Urban[ism] Legend: The Myth of Herbert Hoover

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Herbert Hoover is not a man I consider a "Legend" - quite the contrary.  I use the words "Urbanism Legend" in the context of the series of posts intended to dispel popular myths as they relate to urbanism.Myths and fallacies about Herbert Hoover are abundant these days as the media discusses the … [Read more...]

The Nation’s mass transit hypocrisy

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by Stephen SmithI was heartened to see an article about the need for mass transit in the pages of The Nation, though I was severely disappointed by the magazine's own hypocrisy and historical blindness. The article is in all ways a standard left-liberal screed against the car and for mass … [Read more...]

Redistribution (a follow up)

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I threw up Friday's Redistribution post somewhat hastily during my break, but there isn't much more that I haven't said before.  As a follow-up, I'd like to tie it in with some other interesting reads.Ryan Avent at The Bellows agreed with Yglesias' post and added: Anyway, I saw in Google reader … [Read more...]

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