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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.

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  • What Should I Read to Understand Zoning?

The Progressive Roots of Zoning

November 24, 2017 By Adam Hengels

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, courts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: history, Law, planning, Policy, zoning Tagged With: Edward Bassett, history, New York City, planning, progressivism, zoning

The Little-Known History of “Light and Air”

April 26, 2011 By Stephen Smith

"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...]

Filed Under: history, planning, Policy, zoning Tagged With: density, history, progressivism, skyscrapers, zoning

Hard Truths About Why Conservatives and Libertarians Hate Urbanism

November 20, 2010 By Stephen Smith

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...]

Filed Under: Free-market impostors, Policy, sprawl Tagged With: conservatism, libertarianism, progressivism

The Great American Streetcar Myth

September 23, 2010 By Stephen Smith

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...]

Filed Under: history, infrastructure, Logistics & Transportation, Transportation Tagged With: highways, mass transit, progressivism, Stephen Smith, transit

Urban[ism] Legend: The Myth of Herbert Hoover

February 12, 2009 By Adam Hengels

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...]

Filed Under: history, planning, Urban[ism] Legends, zoning Tagged With: Euclidean, great depression, Herbert Hoover, highways, planning, progressivism, property rights, zoning

The Nation’s mass transit hypocrisy

February 6, 2009 By Stephen Smith

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...]

Filed Under: history, planning, sprawl, Transportation Tagged With: automobile, density, planning, progressivism, roads, San Francisco, smart growth, Stephen Smith, transit, Transportation, zoning

Redistribution (a follow up)

January 26, 2009 By Adam Hengels

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...]

Filed Under: Economics, Free-market impostors Tagged With: affordable housing, CATO, Ed Glaeser, Free-market, glaeser, highways, libertarian, progressivism, sprawl, Urbanism

Euclid’s Legacy

November 28, 2008 By Adam Hengels

While well intentioned, like many progressive interventions of the eary 1900s, zoning has contributed to sprawl (which has begun to be demonized by progressives over the recent decades) and served to inhibit the vitality and diversity of urban neighborhoods. The triumph of the core philosophy behind … [Read more...]

Filed Under: sprawl, zoning Tagged With: Euclid, Euclidean, Kelo, NIMBY, progressivism, sprawl, zoning

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