Free Cities
Blog
Many cities are zoning people out of their homes
Many cities are zoning people out of their homes By Wayne Winegarden A growing housing unaffordability problem is now plaguing cities across the country. The roots of this crisis are errant monetary and fiscal policies that, before they stoked our current bout of inflation, incentivized a surge in housing prices. ...
Wayne H Winegarden
January 5, 2023
Education
COVID-19 Gave a Boost to Urban Homeschooling
COVID-19 gave a boost to urban homeschooling BY LANCE IZUMI Students in urban traditional public schools have struggled for years, but recent state and national test-score results show that student performance fell even more in the wake of the COVID pandemic, which is why so many urban parents have decided ...
Lance Izumi
December 28, 2022
Commentary
Privatization saves money and improves city services
What is the purpose of city government? If you’re an ordinary person, you might figure something like the establishing of certain types of rules (mainly around business and building) and the providing of certain types of services (from parks to policing). City residents, business owners, developers and visitors pay taxes ...
Sal Rodriguez
December 20, 2022
Commentary
Healthy cities matter – and not just to urbanites
Healthy cities matter – and not just to urbanites By Steven Greenhut Progressives loves cities, yet refuse to address the degree to which their policies have made urban life a bigger chore than needed. Conservatives depict cities as dystopian hellholes. They delight in highlighting the crime problems, poorly functional school ...
Steven Greenhut
December 15, 2022
Commentary
Boost police accountability to help improve urban policing
Especially as crime has increased in many cities the past two years, Americans want safe streets, but with responsible policing. They don’t want to get mugged, but also don’t want abuses such as the beating of Rodney King by the LAPD in 1992 or the death of George Floyd in ...
John Seiler
December 12, 2022
Blog
A river runs through it: Revitalizing the Los Angeles River
A river runs through it: Revitalizing the Los Angeles River By Edward Ring “And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; ...
Edward Ring
December 8, 2022
Blog
U.S. land ‘shortage’ is result of artificial growth limits
Some of the social-media responses to a Wall Street Journal article in September headlined, “The U.S. is Running Short of Land for Housing,” were heated. They proved – for anyone who has yet to realize it – that Tweeters and Facebook users might not always read posted articles particularly carefully ...
Steven Greenhut
December 7, 2022
Crime
Marjy Stagmeier – Improving Low-Income Communities
Our guest this week is Marjy Stegmeier, a successful Georgia developer and author of the new book Blighted: A Story of People, Politics, and an American Housing.
Pacific Research Institute
December 6, 2022
Blog
‘Urban growth boundaries’ make cities less affordable
‘Urban growth boundaries’ make cities less affordable by John Seiler At a time when many Western officials are reducing housing restrictions to promote building and thereby ease the affordable-housing crisis, they also are embracing a policy that runs contrary to these goals. Most Western states continue to create Urban Growth ...
John Seiler
December 2, 2022
Blog
Is lefty San Francisco moving in a rightward direction?
Apparently, everyone has a breaking point and for San Franciscans things broke around COVID-19. While public schools shut down amid the pandemic and parents were openly frustrated, the school board took several actions that landed it on the wrong side of voters. That led to the recall of three members ...
Matthew Fleming
December 1, 2022
Many cities are zoning people out of their homes
Many cities are zoning people out of their homes By Wayne Winegarden A growing housing unaffordability problem is now plaguing cities across the country. The roots of this crisis are errant monetary and fiscal policies that, before they stoked our current bout of inflation, incentivized a surge in housing prices. ...
COVID-19 Gave a Boost to Urban Homeschooling
COVID-19 gave a boost to urban homeschooling BY LANCE IZUMI Students in urban traditional public schools have struggled for years, but recent state and national test-score results show that student performance fell even more in the wake of the COVID pandemic, which is why so many urban parents have decided ...
Privatization saves money and improves city services
What is the purpose of city government? If you’re an ordinary person, you might figure something like the establishing of certain types of rules (mainly around business and building) and the providing of certain types of services (from parks to policing). City residents, business owners, developers and visitors pay taxes ...
Healthy cities matter – and not just to urbanites
Healthy cities matter – and not just to urbanites By Steven Greenhut Progressives loves cities, yet refuse to address the degree to which their policies have made urban life a bigger chore than needed. Conservatives depict cities as dystopian hellholes. They delight in highlighting the crime problems, poorly functional school ...
Boost police accountability to help improve urban policing
Especially as crime has increased in many cities the past two years, Americans want safe streets, but with responsible policing. They don’t want to get mugged, but also don’t want abuses such as the beating of Rodney King by the LAPD in 1992 or the death of George Floyd in ...
A river runs through it: Revitalizing the Los Angeles River
A river runs through it: Revitalizing the Los Angeles River By Edward Ring “And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; ...
U.S. land ‘shortage’ is result of artificial growth limits
Some of the social-media responses to a Wall Street Journal article in September headlined, “The U.S. is Running Short of Land for Housing,” were heated. They proved – for anyone who has yet to realize it – that Tweeters and Facebook users might not always read posted articles particularly carefully ...
Marjy Stagmeier – Improving Low-Income Communities
Our guest this week is Marjy Stegmeier, a successful Georgia developer and author of the new book Blighted: A Story of People, Politics, and an American Housing.
‘Urban growth boundaries’ make cities less affordable
‘Urban growth boundaries’ make cities less affordable by John Seiler At a time when many Western officials are reducing housing restrictions to promote building and thereby ease the affordable-housing crisis, they also are embracing a policy that runs contrary to these goals. Most Western states continue to create Urban Growth ...
Is lefty San Francisco moving in a rightward direction?
Apparently, everyone has a breaking point and for San Franciscans things broke around COVID-19. While public schools shut down amid the pandemic and parents were openly frustrated, the school board took several actions that landed it on the wrong side of voters. That led to the recall of three members ...