During my early college studies in Architecture and Urban Design, I became loosely familiar with the ideas of Jane Jacobs, one of the most celebrated urbanist intellectuals. Sanford Ikeda's FEE lectures [mp3] have inspired me to learn more about Jane Jacobs from a Free Market Urbanism point of view. … [Read more...]
Links and Weekend Listening
I've been swamped in my day job, but want to share the following:The blog, Agents of Urbanism recently gave praise to Market Urbanism. Thanks Matthew! Please check out Agents of Urbanism and Life Without Buildings, who followed up on Agent of Urbanism's praise. I enjoy both blogs.Carl … [Read more...]
Conservatives and Urbanism
Matthew Yglesias - Straight Talk on Gasoline on drilling and how conservative deviation from free-market principles has hurt the environment:Meanwhile, take something like the accessory dwellings issue. Here you have a bunch of regulations that make it illegal for people to live more densely. … [Read more...]
Urban[ism] Legend: Density is Bad for the Environment
This is a topic I want to cover more thoroughly, but for now I present a one hour documentary video on green buildings for you leisurely viewing.I came across the snagfilms website from a recent Wall Street Journal article. Most of the documentary videos lean towards "progressive" tastes, but … [Read more...]
How to Obscure Reality to Make Planners Seem Important
Regular reader, Bill forwarded this article from the New York Daily News calling it an "outstanding collection of anti-density and anti-market propaganda presented (as always) as objective journalism." The article is riddled with misconceptions (aka Urbanism Legends) about zoning and development … [Read more...]
Journalists and Cities
Here's a link to an interesting article by Scott Page at Planetizen called A Journalistic View of Cities Scott discusses how mainstream journalists are poorly equipped to write appropriately on urban issues aside from than architecture.I was reading the New York Times Magazine special … [Read more...]
Urban[ism] Legend: Zoning Creates Density
![Urban[ism] Legend: Zoning Creates Density](https://i1.wp.com/ec2-34-201-95-206.compute-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/zoningdiagram.jpg?fit=454%2C441)
This post will be the first of many of an ongoing feature at Market Urbanism entitled Urbanism Legends. (a play on the term: "Urban Legends" in case you didn't catch that) In many public forums and in the blogosphere, I consistently encounter myths about land development and Urban Economics. These … [Read more...]
Demographics + Transportation Costs + Lower Crime = More Urbanization
WSJ: Suburbs a Mile Too Far for Some Demographic Changes, High Gasoline Prices May Hasten Demand for Urban LivingMessrs. Boseman and Wells embody trends that are dovetailing to potentially reshape a half-century-long pattern of how and where Americans live: The drivable suburb -- that bedrock … [Read more...]