Market Urbanism: Free Market Solutions to Urban Sprawl?

[RST500]

What are your thoughts on Market Urbanism? There core argument is that government intervention and primarily zoning encourages sprawl and prevents urbanization. For ex. Parking Requirements as well as state subsidization of sprawl.

http://www.starktruthradio.com/?p=2499

Topics include:

Why Adam advocates for the liberalization of zoning laws
The debate between absolute private property rights vs. the argument that regulations are necessary to prevent landowners from harming their communities
Zoning laws that contribute to suburban sprawl(ex. parking requirements, limits on density in suburbs, and government subsidies of roads and highways)
Retrofitting Suburbia
How demographic and economic changes are leading to the decline of suburbia
How to attract middle class families back to cities by improving education and increasing housing supply
New Urbanism
How zoning laws can prevent bad developments, but can also lead to increases in costs of living
Whether zoning laws are necessary to preserve the aesthetic and historic character of cities
How original mixed use communities declined due to zoning regulation and the rise of the automobile
Robert Stark’s point that even though he supports historic preservation and wilderness conservation, he acknowledges that many zoning laws have negative affects on cities and encourage sprawl
How the Lack of New Housing On The Westside of LA Is Causing Gentrification Of East And South LA
Height limit restrictions in cities
Minimum lot size requirements, and how they stifle creativity in urbanism
Whether highrises can provide housing for the middle class, and Adam’s point that new highrises are expensive but over time they decline in cost and eases the overall demand for housing
Whether mass transit can function in a free market, and how New York City’s Subway System started out as private, and Tokyo’s Subway System is semi private
Transit-oriented development
Adam’s development of micro apartments and how they can address the housing crisis for young people
How zoning laws make it difficult to create micro apartments
The role that Zoning and Urban planning plays in income inequality

[ChargerCarl]

I'm a fan, lol.

[10023]

Sprawl and exurbia receive a lot of public subsidies in the form of infrastructure. They're not really the result of the free market. Just stop building roads out to these places and they won't be viable.

The problem is that developers go build along rural US Route whatever, and then traffic builds up, and then the state/feds come in and spend money on a road widening project.

Just. Don't. Do that. Force people to build where the infrastructure exists.

[mhays]

I wish there was an upvote button 10023.

We should focus infrastructure dollars to encourage what we want, not what we don't want.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by 10023

Sprawl and exurbia receive a lot of public subsidies in the form of infrastructure. They're not really the result of the free market. Just stop building roads out to these places and they won't be viable.

The problem is that developers go build along rural US Route whatever, and then traffic builds up, and then the state/feds come in and spend money on a road widening project.

Just. Don't. Do that. Force people to build where the infrastructure exists.

But then how will everyone be able to afford a McMansion made of plywood and duct tape with an attached four-car garage? Think about it and get back to me