Recently I've been seeing a lot of articles about slums (the NYT on Gurgaon, India, and the Guardian on Cairo), and inevitably the phrase "free market" gets thrown around. And as it should – so-called "slums" often have very minimal active governance, and as a result they often have very dynamic … [Read more...]
Where have I been?
I (Stephen) have been focused on trying to find a job recently (speaking of which – if anyone's got any freelance or permanent work or knows of anyone who might, I'm interested! smithsj@gmail.com), so as you can see, posting has dropped off. Adam also hasn't been posting much lately, but, as you may … [Read more...]
More fuel for the transit policy fire
Controversy over the construction of high speed rail in California provides a glaring example of the rigidity inherent in using infrastructure projects as economic stimulus. A state study suggests that the Central Valley is not the most efficient location to begin the project's construction, and … [Read more...]
Obama administration sells transit out to protectionists (again)
I'm not sure how I missed this (actually, I have an idea – more on that in a minute), but back in February the Federal Transit Administration issued the following warning about strengthened "Buy America" transit procurement protectionism: Congress and the Obama Administration asked Americans to … [Read more...]
What good is form-based zoning when you just keep everything the same?
"Form-based zoning" is something that I've never entirely understood. It's always explained to me as regulating form not use, and generally the example given is that form-based zoning will require certain design aesthetics but not dictate whether something is used as a residence or a place of … [Read more...]
NYC tries to fine its way out of the laws of supply and demand
Having failed to deregulate New York City's highly restrictive taxicab market, it looks like City Council and Bloomberg are opting for the populist reaction to NYC cabdrivers' frequent refusal to take you anywhere outside Manhattan and, if you're lucky, northwest Brooklyn: fines. Quoteth the Wall … [Read more...]
Alon Levy has a blog! Or: How Florida’s HSR money is being wasted in New York
Longtime commenter Alon Levy...has a blog! So far there's only one post up – a critique of one $295 million "HSR" grant for New York, money that was originally intended for Florida – but it's a good one, and I recommend everyone add the blog to their feed readers. He gets into the nitty-gritty … [Read more...]
Laneway housing in Vancouver and beyond
Vancouver holds a special place in most urbanists' heart – a sort of supercharged version of Portland, with its stunning skyline and bold embrace of density and transit. In addition to the glassy forest of skyscrapers, it also passed a law enabling laneway housing under former mayor Sam Sullivan's … [Read more...]