Free Cities

Despite latest defense, zoning is just government coercion By Kerry Jackson | November 22, 2024 Central planning never goes out of style on the political left. On occasion, though, it gets special attention. That’s the case with a new book written by, according to Governing magazine, “​​an architect and zoning ...

Market innovations can make our cities energy independent By Edward Ring | November 15, 2024 A revolution in urban planning is well under way, driven by advances in wastewater recycling and runoff harvesting, along with waste-to-energy technologies and indoor agriculture. But perhaps the biggest and most unheralded breakthrough is the ...

SACRAMENTO – The average age of an owner-occupied house in California is 45 years, which is a reminder that your home was probably built relatively recently. I was an adult when my “historic” midcentury ranch was first sold (for around $50,000 including the lot). It was part of a futuristic neighborhood of ...

Ranked Choice Voting does nothing to improve local elections By Matthew Fleming | November 5, 2024 A recent social media post by a San Francisco mayoral candidate announcing his political strategy for the city’s ranked-choice voting inadvertently highlights why ranked-choice voting is silly. Approved by San Francisco voters in 2002, RCV ...

ELECTION 2024 California’s ballot measures could worsen homelessness John Seiler | October 31, 2024 On Nov. 5, voters in California cities can make the housing and homeless crises better – or worse. Alas, most likely the latter. They likely will pass the vast majority of local sales tax increases, school ...

Like many cities across the country, Denver has experienced soaring housing prices. While wages in the Denver area have increased 55% over the last decade, the median home sale price has surged 180%. A majority of renters are burdened by high rents eating up 30% or more of their incomes, ...

Western cities double down on taxes for failing transit By D. Dowd Muska | October 24, 2024 Well before COVID-19, transit was in big trouble. A 2018 analysis found that “factors such as lower fuel costs, increased teleworking, higher car ownership and the rise of alternatives such as Uber and Lyft” ...

The post, published by the Biden administration’s Council of Economic Advisers, correctly points out that discretionary permitting processes by their nature throw barriers before housing developments. This can slow or outright deter housing from being built. “With discretionary permitting, the proposal is subject to the approval of a public body, ...