Blog
Blog
SmartLA is a not-so-bright way to rebuild Los Angeles
There are rumors that the fires were deliberately started so planners could rebuild under the SmartLA 2028 strategy. Let’s dismiss this conspiracy theory right now. No serious person believes it. But that’s not to say that officials won’t demand that the renewal of the burned-out sections fit their definition of a “smart ...
Blog
Congestion pricing: Bold experiment or a money grab?
Congestion pricing: Bold experiment or a money grab? By Sal Rodriguez | February 6, 2025 Is New York City’s congestion pricing plan a bold experiment or just a money grab? After many years of debate, many thousands of pages of reports and no shortage of lawsuits, New York City on ...
Agriculture
Point Reyes settlement a tragic misstep
In rural areas it has recently come back in vogue to say, “Everyone wants to be a cowboy until it’s time to do cowboy stuff.” Infusions of cowboy hats, boots, and western wear in popular culture have been called the “Yellowstone effect.” Are you a Beth, a Casey, or a ...
Blog
Read about the California "war on cars"
Where Drivers Continue To Starve
Kirkham Street in the Sunset neighborhood of the city is a two-lane, two-way street with bike paths and angle street parking. But now there’s one short stretch between 9th and 10th avenues that’s one way. A recently installed “neckdown” funnels cars into a single lane in the middle of the ...
Blog
Hell on the Highways in the West
The Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) reports that cargo thefts increased 24 percent in 2024 and even more, the value of cargo theft per incident increased from $187,895 to $202,364 – an increase of 7 percent. In comparison, the average bank robbery yielded just over $4000. The value of goods ...
Blog
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery by Steven Greenhut | January 31, 2025 A week doesn’t go by that I don’t get at least one unsolicited offer for my property, typically from investors who don’t use a company name or last name. They often claim to have driven by the house ...
Blog
Book Review: The Age of Debt Bubbles edited by Max Rangely
Today, the U.S.’s debt-to-GDP ratio (the ratio between a country’s government debt and its gross domestic product) stands at 121 percent according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. However, we’re not the only country at risk. Italy is at 139 percent, Greece at 153 percent, Singapore at 176 ...
Blog
Moss Landing Fire Shows Renewable Energy Exacts a Price, Too
“Our true goal is to guarantee safety for the community,” Assemblymember Dawn Addis said a week after the Moss Landing lithium-ion battery storage facility in Monterey County caught fire – and not for the first time – on Jan. 16. So alarmed was Addis that she introduced a bill that ...
Blog
Policing in America Just Got Harder
A somewhat obscure author of a much-forgotten book struck lexicon gold once with the quote “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Gerald Seymour was writing about the violence and murders during the “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland and Britain when he coined the phrase in Harry’s Game, ...
Blog
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Six ways Trump administration will change urban policy
The following policy possibilities have been derived largely from Trump’s statements. Housing. “We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction,” the real estate magnate announced on Aug. 15 at a news conference. “We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now.” He ...
SmartLA is a not-so-bright way to rebuild Los Angeles
There are rumors that the fires were deliberately started so planners could rebuild under the SmartLA 2028 strategy. Let’s dismiss this conspiracy theory right now. No serious person believes it. But that’s not to say that officials won’t demand that the renewal of the burned-out sections fit their definition of a “smart ...
Congestion pricing: Bold experiment or a money grab?
Congestion pricing: Bold experiment or a money grab? By Sal Rodriguez | February 6, 2025 Is New York City’s congestion pricing plan a bold experiment or just a money grab? After many years of debate, many thousands of pages of reports and no shortage of lawsuits, New York City on ...
Point Reyes settlement a tragic misstep
In rural areas it has recently come back in vogue to say, “Everyone wants to be a cowboy until it’s time to do cowboy stuff.” Infusions of cowboy hats, boots, and western wear in popular culture have been called the “Yellowstone effect.” Are you a Beth, a Casey, or a ...
Read about the California "war on cars"
Where Drivers Continue To Starve
Kirkham Street in the Sunset neighborhood of the city is a two-lane, two-way street with bike paths and angle street parking. But now there’s one short stretch between 9th and 10th avenues that’s one way. A recently installed “neckdown” funnels cars into a single lane in the middle of the ...
Hell on the Highways in the West
The Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ) reports that cargo thefts increased 24 percent in 2024 and even more, the value of cargo theft per incident increased from $187,895 to $202,364 – an increase of 7 percent. In comparison, the average bank robbery yielded just over $4000. The value of goods ...
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery
Consumer-protection edicts will only slow LA recovery by Steven Greenhut | January 31, 2025 A week doesn’t go by that I don’t get at least one unsolicited offer for my property, typically from investors who don’t use a company name or last name. They often claim to have driven by the house ...
Book Review: The Age of Debt Bubbles edited by Max Rangely
Today, the U.S.’s debt-to-GDP ratio (the ratio between a country’s government debt and its gross domestic product) stands at 121 percent according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. However, we’re not the only country at risk. Italy is at 139 percent, Greece at 153 percent, Singapore at 176 ...
Moss Landing Fire Shows Renewable Energy Exacts a Price, Too
“Our true goal is to guarantee safety for the community,” Assemblymember Dawn Addis said a week after the Moss Landing lithium-ion battery storage facility in Monterey County caught fire – and not for the first time – on Jan. 16. So alarmed was Addis that she introduced a bill that ...
Policing in America Just Got Harder
A somewhat obscure author of a much-forgotten book struck lexicon gold once with the quote “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Gerald Seymour was writing about the violence and murders during the “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland and Britain when he coined the phrase in Harry’s Game, ...
Read the latest from PRI's Free Cities Center
Six ways Trump administration will change urban policy
The following policy possibilities have been derived largely from Trump’s statements. Housing. “We’re going to open up tracks of federal land for housing construction,” the real estate magnate announced on Aug. 15 at a news conference. “We desperately need housing for people who can’t afford what’s going on now.” He ...
