Category Archives: Urban planning and development

Surprise, Central Planning is Still Stupid (Even in China)

(photo: 2 Dogs) Modern China has a curious capacity to make otherwise very sensible capitalists instantly forget every experience they’ve ever had with government central planning. The Western businessman on a trip to Shanghai looks up and sees all those … Continue reading

Posted in Foreign affairs, Lee's Page, Uncategorized, Urban planning and development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cuba Lifts Ban on Computers, Other Electronics

The Cuban government has lifted the ban on computers, dvd players, television sets, which were already on sale, electric pressure cookers and rice cookers, electric bicycles, car alarms and microwave ovens. It seems the move was allowed because of improving … Continue reading

Posted in Chris' Page, energy, Urban planning and development | Leave a comment

Fundamentally there was no housing bubble?-Update

So claims Alex Tabarrok. Alex and his blogmate Tyler are two of my favorite bloggers, but on this matter I think Alex is wrong. Unlike for some, his argument doesn’t invite scorn from me, because humility should teach us that … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Lance's Page, regulation, Urban planning and development | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Market failure

From Peter Gordon: This morning’s WSJ op-ed (“Gas Taxes Are High Enough”) by Mary E. Peters, Secretary of Transportation, suggests that this appointment belongs on the plus side of the ledger. She is the highest-ranking federal transportation official to openly … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Lance's Page, Libertarianism, regulation, Technology, Urban planning and development | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Baton Rouge’s Downtown Jewel

From The Baton Rouge Business Report we learn that one of the key linchpins in Baton Rouge’s rapid progress in revitalizing the downtown, the Shaw Center for the Arts, has been recognized by The American Institute of Architects: The Shaw … Continue reading

Posted in Baton Rouge, Lance's Page, Urban planning and development | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Private Infrastructure

Over at the Wall Street Journal’s Wealth Report, Robert Frank notes: Government outlays on physical infrastructure have declined to 2.7 percent of the gross domestic product, he says, from 3.6 percent in the 1960s. Philanthropic giving, in contrast, has jumped … Continue reading

Posted in Lance's Page, Libertarianism, Louisiana Politics, Urban planning and development | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Simple Urban Revival

While it is mentioned, it rarely gets as much coverage as more grandiose endeavors which feature urban planners and lots of government action, one of the most effective ways to revive a downtown is the arrival of a cinema. While … Continue reading

Posted in Lance's Page, Urban planning and development | 5 Comments

The City Car

Very Cool: The City Car, a design project under way at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is envisioned as a two-seater electric vehicle powered by lithium-ion batteries. It would weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds and could collapse, then stack … Continue reading

Posted in Environment, Lance's Page, Technology, Urban planning and development | Leave a comment

Housing and the Red State-Blue State Divide

  Virginia Postrel makes a point I will be exploring in more detail over the next few months in her latest essay at The Atlantic, the reasons behind the vast disparities in housing prices in our country. More interestingly she … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Domestic Politics, Economics, Lance's Page, regulation, social science, Society, Urban planning and development | 3 Comments

Who Would Have Thought?

One of the more irritating aspects of debates on urban planning is the denial of what should be obvious. More people per square mile relative to the number of miles of roads means more traffic congestion. Yet “Smart Growth” and … Continue reading

Posted in Lance's Page, Urban planning and development | 3 Comments

Cities of Men

I have not touched on the subject of the often hostile turn our culture has taken towards men, especially when it comes to their relationships with children. It is not that I don’t agree that that is a concern, in … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Culture, Lance's Page, regulation, social science, Society, Urban planning and development | 6 Comments

Urban Policy

I recently did an interview, about an hour and a half long, on the ongoing, and fruitful, efforts to revitalize downtown Baton Rouge. We discussed a wide variety of related topics to development; economics, regulatory barriers, the work of the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Lance's Page, Louisiana Politics, regulation, Urban planning and development | Leave a comment