Hey guys, before I start this link list, I wanted to ask: Has anybody had trouble posting comments here with Disqus lately? Either you can't post them, or once you do they disappear? I've gotten two complaints in the last few days, so if you've been experiencing any problems please don't hesitate … [Read more...]
Empirical evidence that anti-density zoning breeds racial segregation
With nothing quick to blog about and not being in the mood to write something long, I dug into the Google Scholar pool for some interesting empirical work, which is something this blog hasn't featured in a while. This paper shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but it's interesting empirical work … [Read more...]
New York City links
There are a couple of NYC-related links that I've been saving up, so here they are:1. Stephen Goldsmith, former mayor of Indiannapolis and NYC's new deputy mayor, appears to be interested in privatizing New York City's parking meters in order to balance the city's budget. We're more interested … [Read more...]
Zoning blighted Manhattanville before Columbia did
Something that always annoyed me about discussions of the state of Manhattanville and Columbia's blight study is the fact that they usually leave out restrictive zoning as the original sin. We're certainly no fans of eminent domain or Columbia's plans for the West Harlem neighborhood, and while … [Read more...]
Weekend links
Links, links, links!1. The Washington City Paper has a great expose on street food in DC called "Inside D.C.'s Food-Truck Wars" with the subtitle "How some of Washington's most powerful interests are trying to curb the city's most popular new cuisine."2. Mary Newsom at the Charlotte Observer … [Read more...]
Building what you can
by Stephen SmithBLDG blog has a cool post about a book by two architects about "minor development," or small construction projects that don't require planning permission – things like sheds, garages, and extensions. It talks about recent legal changes in Europe that have encouraged this sort of … [Read more...]
Food deserts and zoning
by Stephen SmithThe other day I put up a post detailing the restrictions that small-scale restaurants and food carts face, but I should mention that grocery stores and supermarkets also face similar restrictions. Like restrictions on restaurants, they end hitting poor, urban, black … [Read more...]
Deregulating food
by Stephen SmithUrban planners like to discuss heavy things – roads, buildings, cars, trains. Food, though an integral part of humans' lives, generally doesn't enter into the equation as more than a footnote. This may be because food service is governed by different departments than buildings, … [Read more...]