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Read latest from Free Cities Center

New cities offer unpredictable but exciting urban future

Although it was thoroughly lost amid his travails as the most prosecuted ex-president in American history, on March 4, in a video released on his campaign website, Donald Trump proposed a national contest for urban developers to submit designs for new “Freedom Cities,” with 10 winning designs to be allocated federal land ...
Blog

True conservatives should welcome state rollback of housing restrictions

‘Local control’ still is government control

At the state level, the concurrent Republican values of “local control” and “limited government” can compete and even conflict. Republicans have long stood against unfunded state mandates on local government and onerous red tape on the private sector, as well we should. However, we should welcome state intervention to reduce ...
Blog

Read about debate over SB 9 and 10

Misguided fear and loathing over relaxed zoning rules

SB 9 essentially eliminated single-family-only zoning by allowing property owners – on a “by right” basis that avoids subjective local reviews – to subdivide their single-family properties and build additional units on the land provided it meets all the pre-existing local setback and land-use conditions. It would allow up to ...
Blog

Anti-camping ordinances or Housing First programs?

It’s no surprise to any resident that, for more than a decade, a disproportionate share of the homeless population has been living in California, and that number continues to grow. We see it every day: on the way to work, dropping our kids off at school, enjoying a nice dinner ...
Blog

How Eminent Domain Obliterated the Character of Cities

No city can possibly express its character – the many urban quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as the strangely appealing grittiness and shining luxury that often coexist side-by-side – when government planners use the bulldozer to “improve” cities. Writing about the “wave of urban renewal that swept the world in ...
Blog

Previewing Gov. Newsom’s Political Roadshow State of the State

The Associated Press reports that “Newsom plans to fulfill his constitutional requirement by sending a letter to the State Legislature” instead of delivering the usual speech at the State Capitol. Part of me felt a little nostalgic by the news.  I’ve had the chance to work on both sides of ...
Blog

Here Come the Jetsons: Cities Developing in Futuristic Ways

Every since humans invented the built environment, and cities developed along major crossroads and on the forks of navigable rivers, meeting the challenge of providing adequate transportation has been a nonnegotiable prerequisite to continued growth and prosperity.
Blog

Progressives misread housing market with attack on investors

There seems to be mild panic regarding investors buying up housing. The Washington Post reported last year that, “​​investors bought a record share of homes in 2021,” almost “one in seven homes sold in America’s top metropolitan areas” as well as “the most in at least two decades.” Often the ...
Blog

Why California’s ‘affordable’ housing costs $1 million a unit

Why California’s ‘affordable’ housing costs $1 million a unit By John Seiler  |  February 10, 2023 A friend of mine is an executive in the construction industry. His company sometimes works on government projects, especially in Los Angeles. As a non-union shop, his company works under the rules of Project ...
Blog

Are Western cities ready for renewable skyscrapers?

Every so often a product comes along that presents itself as a “sustainable” innovation, yet has compelling appeal even if sustainability isn’t someone’s top priority. Of course, sustainability has become something of an overused buzzword, but it generally refers to a production process that doesn’t deplete natural resources or damage the environment. ...
Blog

Read latest from Free Cities Center

New cities offer unpredictable but exciting urban future

Although it was thoroughly lost amid his travails as the most prosecuted ex-president in American history, on March 4, in a video released on his campaign website, Donald Trump proposed a national contest for urban developers to submit designs for new “Freedom Cities,” with 10 winning designs to be allocated federal land ...
Blog

True conservatives should welcome state rollback of housing restrictions

‘Local control’ still is government control

At the state level, the concurrent Republican values of “local control” and “limited government” can compete and even conflict. Republicans have long stood against unfunded state mandates on local government and onerous red tape on the private sector, as well we should. However, we should welcome state intervention to reduce ...
Blog

Read about debate over SB 9 and 10

Misguided fear and loathing over relaxed zoning rules

SB 9 essentially eliminated single-family-only zoning by allowing property owners – on a “by right” basis that avoids subjective local reviews – to subdivide their single-family properties and build additional units on the land provided it meets all the pre-existing local setback and land-use conditions. It would allow up to ...
Blog

Anti-camping ordinances or Housing First programs?

It’s no surprise to any resident that, for more than a decade, a disproportionate share of the homeless population has been living in California, and that number continues to grow. We see it every day: on the way to work, dropping our kids off at school, enjoying a nice dinner ...
Blog

How Eminent Domain Obliterated the Character of Cities

No city can possibly express its character – the many urban quirks and idiosyncrasies, as well as the strangely appealing grittiness and shining luxury that often coexist side-by-side – when government planners use the bulldozer to “improve” cities. Writing about the “wave of urban renewal that swept the world in ...
Blog

Previewing Gov. Newsom’s Political Roadshow State of the State

The Associated Press reports that “Newsom plans to fulfill his constitutional requirement by sending a letter to the State Legislature” instead of delivering the usual speech at the State Capitol. Part of me felt a little nostalgic by the news.  I’ve had the chance to work on both sides of ...
Blog

Here Come the Jetsons: Cities Developing in Futuristic Ways

Every since humans invented the built environment, and cities developed along major crossroads and on the forks of navigable rivers, meeting the challenge of providing adequate transportation has been a nonnegotiable prerequisite to continued growth and prosperity.
Blog

Progressives misread housing market with attack on investors

There seems to be mild panic regarding investors buying up housing. The Washington Post reported last year that, “​​investors bought a record share of homes in 2021,” almost “one in seven homes sold in America’s top metropolitan areas” as well as “the most in at least two decades.” Often the ...
Blog

Why California’s ‘affordable’ housing costs $1 million a unit

Why California’s ‘affordable’ housing costs $1 million a unit By John Seiler  |  February 10, 2023 A friend of mine is an executive in the construction industry. His company sometimes works on government projects, especially in Los Angeles. As a non-union shop, his company works under the rules of Project ...
Blog

Are Western cities ready for renewable skyscrapers?

Every so often a product comes along that presents itself as a “sustainable” innovation, yet has compelling appeal even if sustainability isn’t someone’s top priority. Of course, sustainability has become something of an overused buzzword, but it generally refers to a production process that doesn’t deplete natural resources or damage the environment. ...
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