Free Cities
Blog
High-density policies turning cities into child-free zones
J.D. Vance would not like living in Sausalito. A mere 9% of the city’s residents, the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported, are under 18, making it “one of the handful of communities in California with at least 5,000 people where less than 1 in 10 residents is a child.” Looking ...
Blog
LA mayor slowly dismantles her successful housing plan
LA mayor slowly dismantles her successful housing plan Sal Rodriguez | August 8, 2024 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continues to walk back her most successful initiative to bring much needed housing on the market. On July 1, Bass issued her third revision to Executive Directive 1, which she notes ...
California
Watch PRI’s Webinar – The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson represents the lifting of a major legal logjam that has hindered the efforts of local governments in California and across the country to clean up homeless encampments and alleviate rising homelessness on our streets. Go inside the historic decision with ...
Blog
Don’t expect housing fixes from the federal government
The heat of a presidential election – especially one that’s seen highly unusual and disruptive events, from an attempted assassination attempt the late-stage replacement of a candidate – is rarely a good time to discuss nuanced policy. Less than 100 days from the vote, both candidates mainly toss out vague ...
Blog
Boom town or bust? Developers postpone new-city plan
The developers apparently ran into bad polling and a negative report from Solano County questioning funding sources for related infrastructure. Taking more time and getting the bureaucratic papers and all the infrastructure funding and governance details in order will address some of the arguments the NIMBYs (Not In My Back ...
Blog
The good, bad and ugly: Lessons from India’s private city
The good, bad and ugly: Lessons from India’s private city Gurgaon, the large satellite city outside New Delhi, shows the tremendous upside, and a few pitfalls, of privatization. by Scott Beyer | July 24, 2024 Urban privatization – via “startup cities,” “competitive governance” and the like – has risen these ...
Blog
Why Dallas permits more housing than all of California
In April, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area permitted more housing than all of California, meaning that on a per-capita basis, DFW permitted five times as much housing as the Golden State. Given that interest rates are the same nationwide, how is one metro area permitting more new housing than the largest state in the ...
Blog
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions Matthew Fleming | July 18, 2024 History of SF’s myriad commissions The first 21 commissions were founded in 1898 with the city and county charter, but the list has ballooned to 115 today for the city of around ...
Blog
Transit agencies put lofty EV goals above riders’ needs
Perhaps few professional environmentalists read reports issued by the King County Auditor’s Office, but they ought to pay attention to one released last month. Called “Zero Emissions: Metro Transit Working to Mitigate Risks to County’s Ambitious 2035 Goal,” the report documented a phenomenon that climate warriors can no longer ignore: the “many ...
Blog
Big victory in U.S. Supreme Court:
Big victory in U.S. Supreme Court: Grants Pass ruling gives cities tools to clean up homeless camps By Kerry Jackson | July 12, 2024 The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling set off a round of celebrations and grumbling that typically occur when any court opinion ...
High-density policies turning cities into child-free zones
J.D. Vance would not like living in Sausalito. A mere 9% of the city’s residents, the San Francisco Chronicle recently reported, are under 18, making it “one of the handful of communities in California with at least 5,000 people where less than 1 in 10 residents is a child.” Looking ...
LA mayor slowly dismantles her successful housing plan
LA mayor slowly dismantles her successful housing plan Sal Rodriguez | August 8, 2024 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass continues to walk back her most successful initiative to bring much needed housing on the market. On July 1, Bass issued her third revision to Executive Directive 1, which she notes ...
Watch PRI’s Webinar – The Grants Pass Decision on Homelessness: An Inside Look
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson represents the lifting of a major legal logjam that has hindered the efforts of local governments in California and across the country to clean up homeless encampments and alleviate rising homelessness on our streets. Go inside the historic decision with ...
Don’t expect housing fixes from the federal government
The heat of a presidential election – especially one that’s seen highly unusual and disruptive events, from an attempted assassination attempt the late-stage replacement of a candidate – is rarely a good time to discuss nuanced policy. Less than 100 days from the vote, both candidates mainly toss out vague ...
Boom town or bust? Developers postpone new-city plan
The developers apparently ran into bad polling and a negative report from Solano County questioning funding sources for related infrastructure. Taking more time and getting the bureaucratic papers and all the infrastructure funding and governance details in order will address some of the arguments the NIMBYs (Not In My Back ...
The good, bad and ugly: Lessons from India’s private city
The good, bad and ugly: Lessons from India’s private city Gurgaon, the large satellite city outside New Delhi, shows the tremendous upside, and a few pitfalls, of privatization. by Scott Beyer | July 24, 2024 Urban privatization – via “startup cities,” “competitive governance” and the like – has risen these ...
Why Dallas permits more housing than all of California
In April, the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area permitted more housing than all of California, meaning that on a per-capita basis, DFW permitted five times as much housing as the Golden State. Given that interest rates are the same nationwide, how is one metro area permitting more new housing than the largest state in the ...
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions
Patronage or problem solving? San Fran debates its proliferation of iffy commissions Matthew Fleming | July 18, 2024 History of SF’s myriad commissions The first 21 commissions were founded in 1898 with the city and county charter, but the list has ballooned to 115 today for the city of around ...
Transit agencies put lofty EV goals above riders’ needs
Perhaps few professional environmentalists read reports issued by the King County Auditor’s Office, but they ought to pay attention to one released last month. Called “Zero Emissions: Metro Transit Working to Mitigate Risks to County’s Ambitious 2035 Goal,” the report documented a phenomenon that climate warriors can no longer ignore: the “many ...
Big victory in U.S. Supreme Court:
Big victory in U.S. Supreme Court: Grants Pass ruling gives cities tools to clean up homeless camps By Kerry Jackson | July 12, 2024 The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 28 Grants Pass v. Johnson ruling set off a round of celebrations and grumbling that typically occur when any court opinion ...
