In addition to Sandy's traditional walks in Brooklyn Heights, I will be hosting a walk through Downtown Brooklyn preceding Sandy's Sunday walk.Here's a link to my walk, although they mistakenly listed it for Saturday morning instead of Sunday morning. Hopefully, they can fix this, because I … [Read more...]
Spring Fever Links
1) Nate Berg at The Atlantic Cities covers new research on the world's earliest cities. The findings would make Jane Jacobs happy as researchers have uncovered evidence that the earliest urbanization was a case of spontaneous order. Their construction wasn't directed by kings as some historians … [Read more...]
TGIF Links
1. A reader from Vancouver wrote in to let Stephen and me know about a proposed policy to tax foreign investors at a higher rate than local property owners. Support for this policy is growing among residents, and with a mayoral election this Saturday, some are hoping to get candidates to endorse the … [Read more...]
Cities and the Market Process: Part 1
In a post about the tendency for emergent urbanists to promote the idea of cities having a single equilibrium, Alon Levy recently wrote that collective choice is the best manner for determining urban form. Many urbanists accept that some of the top-down regulations that limit density or use are … [Read more...]
Death and life in a changing neighborhood
A controversy in DC's Columbia Heights neighborhood exemplifies the common clash between NIMBYism and the achievement of Jane Jacob's ideals. Some residents are opposed to a new proposed diner, Margot's Chair, that would be open 24 hours a day. The owners already have three well-loved restaurants in … [Read more...]
Meetup before Sandy’s Jane’s Walk this Sunday
From the comments and emails I've gotten, there will be a pretty decent turnout of Market Urbanists at Sandy Ikeda's Jane's Walk on Sunday, "Eye's on Brooklyn Heights." Here are the details from the site; Date: Sunday May 8, 2011 Time: 1:00pm-2:30pm Meeting Place: The tour will meet at the … [Read more...]
More Libertarians on Jane Jacobs
The Ludwig von Mises Institute publishes a podcast performed by Jeff Riggenbach called "The Libertarian Tradition", which discusses significant figures in the libertarian movement. The most recent edition is dedicated to Jane Jacobs, who's ideas are highly regarded by many libertarians, despite the … [Read more...]
Even Jane Jacobs thought Houston doesn’t have zoning
"Houston has no zoning" is a very popular urban planning meme. It has its roots in Houston's lacks one very specific kind of zoning: Euclidean separation of residential, commercial, and industrial uses. Euclidean zoning happens to be the one kind of planning that people easily understand (the whole … [Read more...]