Is it even possible today to write a vigorous argument in favor of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s? I doubt it. So I was glad to stumble upon a copy of Jeanne Lowe's 1967 book, Cities in a Race with Time. Lowe is a sympathetic - but not sycophantic - observer of the urban renewal era, … [Read more...]
Urban Planners Overregulate Private Lots but Neglect the Design and Regulation of Public Spaces
Because there are no market signals that could identify the best and highest use of street space, it is the role of urban planners to allocate the use of street space between different users and to design boundaries between them where needed.This article appeared originally in Caos … [Read more...]
The 15-Minute City Is a Distracting Utopia
As proposed, Moreno's 15-minute city has no chance of implementation, because economic and financial realities constrain the location of jobs, commerce, and community facilities. No planner can redesign a city by locating shops and jobs according to their own whims.This article appeared … [Read more...]
The Master Plan: An Obsolete Urban Management Tool
Most master plans are a costly effort by a team of temporary consultants, spread over two to three years, to prepare a blueprint that is usually obsolete as soon as it is completed.This article appeared originally in Caos Planejadoand is reprinted here with the publisher's … [Read more...]
Are New Cities Necessary?
Promotors of recently developed cities ranging from Nusantara, the freshly built capital of Indonesia, to Neom, Saudi Arabia’s futurist urban paradise, advertise them as breakthroughs in urban living. But does the world need new cities?This article appeared originally in Caos Planejadoand is … [Read more...]
In Praise of Randomness
Cities have always invited us to be constantly on the move. We move around to get to work, go shopping, meet friends, attend a concert, visit an art exhibition, and take advantage of all the many activities that a metropolis offers.This post appeared originally in Caos Planejado and is … [Read more...]
Resources for Reformers: Houston’s minimum lot sizes
Updated 1/11/24 to add 3 new papers, Wegmann, Baqai, and Conrad (2023), Dobbels & Tavakalov (2023), and Hamilton (2024). The original post was published 3/14/23.A concerted research effort has brought minimum lot sizes into focus as a key element in city zoning reform. Boise is looking at … [Read more...]
Rhode Island’s housing process package
"Renting in Providence puts city councilors in precarious situations." That was the Providence Journal's leading headline a few days ago, as the legislature waited for Governor Daniel McKee to sign a pile of housing-related bills (Update: He signed them all). Rhode Island doesn't have a superstar … [Read more...]