1. For anyone who doesn't follow Stephen on Twitter at @MarketUrbanism, he's now a real estate reporter at International Business Times. Here he covers criticism of the National Association of Realtors' forecast that housing prices have bottomed out.2. In the debate over whether or not to ban … [Read more...]
“Really Narrow Streets” project in the planning stages in Maine
In Maine, a group of residents are hoping to start a new community based on the principles of urban design advocated by Nathan Lewis at New World Economics and J.H. Crawford at Carfree.com. The group, led by Tracy Gayton, is hoping to attract enough individual investors to buy 125 acres of land … [Read more...]
“Battle for Brooklyn” playing this weekend. Meetup?
For readers in the DC area, the movie Battle for Brooklyn is playing at the Dome Theater in Arlington this weekend. The film explores eminent domain in the Forest City Ratner development at Atlantic Yards. It will be playing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with a Q&A with the directors Michael … [Read more...]
The Coase Theorem in Land Use
On a recent post about property rights in the land market, commenter David Sucher brought up the issue of transaction costs. He commented here and at his blog City Comforts: The "least intrusive means" should be always kept in mind. The only issue for me is the huge transaction costs which, I … [Read more...]
The Pitfalls Of The Manhattan Street Grid
2011 is almost over, so it’s the last week I’ll be able to run random NYC street grid facts with the excuse that it’s the 200th anniversary of New York‘s 1811 Commissioners’ Plan! This WSJ blog post on the high cost of filming in Manhattan rare alleyways reminded me of … [Read more...]
North Korean Urbanism at Kim Jong-il’s Funeral
Quick, are you at the computer reading this around 2 a.m. Wednesday eastern time??... … [Read more...]
NYC Universities Doing Alright With Compsci Classes Without Cornell-Technion
Surprise surprise, students at New York‘s existing universities are choosing to go into computer science even without a bling-y contest over land, favors, and cash worth hundreds of millions of dollars! Reporteth the WSJ: When city officials launched a competition last year to build an … [Read more...]
NYC Taxi Reform Doesn’t Go Far Enough
This post originally appeared at Neighborhood Effects, a Mercatus Center blog where we write about the economics of state and local policy.Next week, New York Governor Cuomo is likely to sign a bill that will marginally increase competition in the NYC cab market. The new rule will allow … [Read more...]