Free Cities

Creating a bigger bureaucracy won’t fix Bay Area transit By Steven Greenhut | January 26, 2024 Note:  This is a longer version of an op-ed that ran earlier this week in the East Bay Times. When government agencies face daunting problems, it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to propose some “solution” ...

When government agencies face daunting problems, it’s not uncommon for lawmakers to propose some “solution” that amounts to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic — i.e., a pointless bureaucratic revamping that does nothing to address the obvious iceberg. The latest example involves the San Francisco Bay Area’s myriad transit ...

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 ...

Housing. Shelter. Room at the inn. A hearth and a home. From the moment neolithic humans emerged from caves to build structures in the open, they needed some place warm and dry to call home. It is a primal necessity and a prerequisite for civilization. This imperative is not lost ...

In 2024, will more cities relax the grip of progressive policy? by Kerry Jackson  |  January 12, 2024 Joel Kotkin of Chapman University recently posted a piece on Unherd in which he reports that, “​​Across America’s cities, voters are driving out progressives.” Encouraging, if true. Kotkin says that in Seattle, ...

City officials depend on money from state and federal governments to implement climate agendas imposed from above. A new report finds them griping about their favorite topic: not enough money from the taxpayers. Key takeaway: “Across all policy areas, respondents were most likely to identify staff capacity and funding as ...

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 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 ...

Oppressive state policies keep cities shackled in chains By Kerry Jackson | December 26, 2023 Ken Griffin, founder and chairman of hedge fund company Citadel, caused a bit of a stir when he recently suggested that Miami could eventually replace New York City as the nation’s financial capital. “​​We’ll see ...

Lower costs – not subsidies – spur Sacto’s restaurant scene By Steven Greenhut | December 22, 2023 When I moved to Sacramento in 2009, the city’s restaurant and nightlife scene was rather bleak. I recall roaming around downtown on an election night looking for an open bar, figuring Capitol staffers ...