On June 24 in Brooklyn, a driver in an SUV struck and killed four-year-old Luz Gonzalez, with many onlookers claiming the incident was a hit-and-run. The New York Police Department disagrees, and has refused to prosecute the driver, sparking multiple street protests. Beyond seeking justice for … [Read more...]
Why Autonomous Vehicles != Endless Sprawl
There’s been an ongoing debate in urbanist circles about whether autonomous vehicles (AVs) will damn us to perpetual sprawl and super commuting. I don’t believe that they will. In the first place, the business conditions under which AVs could conceivably induce more sprawl are unlikely. And in the … [Read more...]
The “Old People Need Cars” Argument- Myth or Fact?
The needs of the aged are often a political football in disputes over transportation policy. On the one hand, defenders of low-cost parking and other car-oriented policies argue that older people all need cars because they can’t be bothered to walk. On the other hand, smart growth types argue that … [Read more...]
Urban Mobility and Innovation with Anthony Ling at Stanford Graduate School of Business
I recently gave a talk on the topic of "Urban Mobility and Innovation" at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where I am currently studying. I was positively surprised by the turnout for the event as there are currently few formal groups focusing on urban issues at the GSB.The reason I did … [Read more...]
Mini review: Suburb, by Royce Hanson
Suburb: Planning Politics and the Public Interest is a scholarly book about planning politics in Montgomery County, a (mostly) affluent suburb of Washington, D.C. The book contains chapters on redevelopment of inner ring, transit-friendly areas such as Friendship Heights and Silver Spring, but also … [Read more...]
Liberty Machines™
During an urbanist twitter free-for-all last week, the thoroughly awesome term "liberty machines" was used to describe the virtues of the car. The claim was made that cars let individuals go wherever they want, whenever they want and are therefore a ‘freedom enhancing’ form of … [Read more...]
The Distorting Effects of Transportation Subsidies
by Kevin CarsonThis article won the 2011 Beth A. Hoffman Memorial Prize for Economic Writing.Although critics on the left are very astute in describing the evils of present-day society, they usually fail to understand either the root of those problems (government intervention) or their … [Read more...]
The Rent is Too High and the Commute is Too Long: We Need Market Urbanism
Why is the rent so damn high? And why does it take hours to commute from cheap, plentiful housing to modern economy jobs? If you are living in a big city in America, you likely face this problem. And it isn’t just an American problem: From Ireland to New Zealand to The Philippines, the … [Read more...]