Urban Renewal
Blog
Read the Free Cities Center's latest book review
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World’
Post-COVID, are cities still the engines of civilization? Physicist Geoffrey West has called cities “the crucible of civilization.” That widely quoted metaphor is worth unpacking. A crucible is a mold that holds molten substances as they are cooling and gives them new form. The claim here is that cities are ...
Jeremy Lott
April 18, 2024
Blog
Let the market decide the right number of parking spots
Let the market decide the right number of parking spots By Kenneth Schrupp | April 5, 2024 First published in 2005, David Shoup’s “The High Cost of Free Parking” is, after nearly two decades, driving a national reconsideration of parking minimums. But while some cities from Austin to San Jose ...
Kenneth Schrupp
April 5, 2024
Free Cities
WATCH: Learn about the intriguing proposed Solano County city
A proposed new city in rural Solano County has generated significant interest and intrigue. Watch as the Free Cities Center’s Steven Greenhut explores the controversial new city effort with reporter Nick McConnell of the Vacaville Reporter and Free Cities Center contributor Edward Ring.
Pacific Research Institute
March 13, 2024
Free Cities
WATCH: Are more public transit subsidies the key to improving urban living?
Watch as Free Cities Center’s Steven Greenhut sits down with Professor William Anderson to discuss whether more subsidies for public transit are the key to improving urban living.
Pacific Research Institute
February 16, 2024
Blog
Cities can improve day-to-day life by freeing street vendors
Cities can improve day-to-day life by freeing street vendors By Sal Rodriguez | January 19, 2024 As long as there have been street vendors, city bureaucrats have tried to stop them. Whether for protectionist reasons protecting brick-and-mortar businesses from competition or in response to exaggerated health concerns, such rules are ...
Sal Rodriguez
January 19, 2024
Free Cities
Watch: Video tour of Sacramento’s K Street
Watch as Steven Greenhut of the Free Cities Center tours Sacramento’s K Street – a poster child for the negative consequences of government planning dictates – with longtime former Capitol staffer and proponent for ending eminent domain abuse Richard Mersereau. They discuss how eminent domain and the lasting legacy of ...
Pacific Research Institute
January 4, 2024
Blog
An ode to the suburb
An ode to the suburb By Andrew Smith | January 4, 2024 Suburbs are considered the ugly stepchild of American urban design. They’re generally despised, considered bastions of conformity, derided as “cookie-cutter vinyl villages,” considered eyesores and blamed for virtually every malady that has affected urban America. But if they’re ...
Andrew Smith
January 4, 2024
Free Cities
Scott Beyer – Latin America’s Urban Experience
Our guest this week is Scott Beyer, founder of the Market Urbanist, a website that reports and researches innovative free-market policy solutions to the myriad of problems many cities are facing. Scott is the author of PRI’s new mini book: Latin America’s Urban Experience: How Markets Help Developing Countries Cope ...
Pacific Research Institute
November 20, 2023
Blog
Latin America Should Upgrade Rather Than Demolish ‘Favelas’
Latin America Should Upgrade Rather Than Demolish ‘Favelas’ By Scott Beyer | November 16, 2023 Some developing countries are making the same urban-renewal mistakes made by the United States in the post-war era. Sensible market-oriented policies can transform slums into safe and decent neighborhoods rather than simply displacing poor people. ...
Scott Beyer
November 16, 2023
Book
NEW BOOK RELEASE
Latin America’s Experience Shows How Markets Can Help Urban America Overcome Government-Created Problems
SACRAMENTO – Despite its socialist political traditions, Latin America offers some free market lessons for the West Coast’s urban centers on housing, transportation, government services and startup cities, finds a new book released today by the Free Cities Center at the nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. Click ...
Pacific Research Institute
November 13, 2023
Read the Free Cities Center's latest book review
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World’
Post-COVID, are cities still the engines of civilization? Physicist Geoffrey West has called cities “the crucible of civilization.” That widely quoted metaphor is worth unpacking. A crucible is a mold that holds molten substances as they are cooling and gives them new form. The claim here is that cities are ...
Let the market decide the right number of parking spots
Let the market decide the right number of parking spots By Kenneth Schrupp | April 5, 2024 First published in 2005, David Shoup’s “The High Cost of Free Parking” is, after nearly two decades, driving a national reconsideration of parking minimums. But while some cities from Austin to San Jose ...
WATCH: Learn about the intriguing proposed Solano County city
A proposed new city in rural Solano County has generated significant interest and intrigue. Watch as the Free Cities Center’s Steven Greenhut explores the controversial new city effort with reporter Nick McConnell of the Vacaville Reporter and Free Cities Center contributor Edward Ring.
WATCH: Are more public transit subsidies the key to improving urban living?
Watch as Free Cities Center’s Steven Greenhut sits down with Professor William Anderson to discuss whether more subsidies for public transit are the key to improving urban living.
Cities can improve day-to-day life by freeing street vendors
Cities can improve day-to-day life by freeing street vendors By Sal Rodriguez | January 19, 2024 As long as there have been street vendors, city bureaucrats have tried to stop them. Whether for protectionist reasons protecting brick-and-mortar businesses from competition or in response to exaggerated health concerns, such rules are ...
Watch: Video tour of Sacramento’s K Street
Watch as Steven Greenhut of the Free Cities Center tours Sacramento’s K Street – a poster child for the negative consequences of government planning dictates – with longtime former Capitol staffer and proponent for ending eminent domain abuse Richard Mersereau. They discuss how eminent domain and the lasting legacy of ...
An ode to the suburb
An ode to the suburb By Andrew Smith | January 4, 2024 Suburbs are considered the ugly stepchild of American urban design. They’re generally despised, considered bastions of conformity, derided as “cookie-cutter vinyl villages,” considered eyesores and blamed for virtually every malady that has affected urban America. But if they’re ...
Scott Beyer – Latin America’s Urban Experience
Our guest this week is Scott Beyer, founder of the Market Urbanist, a website that reports and researches innovative free-market policy solutions to the myriad of problems many cities are facing. Scott is the author of PRI’s new mini book: Latin America’s Urban Experience: How Markets Help Developing Countries Cope ...
Latin America Should Upgrade Rather Than Demolish ‘Favelas’
Latin America Should Upgrade Rather Than Demolish ‘Favelas’ By Scott Beyer | November 16, 2023 Some developing countries are making the same urban-renewal mistakes made by the United States in the post-war era. Sensible market-oriented policies can transform slums into safe and decent neighborhoods rather than simply displacing poor people. ...
NEW BOOK RELEASE
Latin America’s Experience Shows How Markets Can Help Urban America Overcome Government-Created Problems
SACRAMENTO – Despite its socialist political traditions, Latin America offers some free market lessons for the West Coast’s urban centers on housing, transportation, government services and startup cities, finds a new book released today by the Free Cities Center at the nonpartisan, free-market think tank, the Pacific Research Institute. Click ...