ana030: The ABC's of Market Urbanism | Scott Beyer Interview

 

"Market Urbanism is the intersection of urban issues and free market philosophy."

 

We interview Scott Beyer of the Market Urbanism Report to introduce the ideas of Market Urbanism and discuss a broad sweep of issues in housing, transportation, and governance.

 

Use hashtag #ana030 to reference this episode in a tweet, post, or comment

 

View full show notes at http://anarchitecturepodcast.com/ana030.

 

Intro

 

Contrition
Joe's urbanism crash course
Tim met some OG Market Urbanists
Scott Beyer and the Market Urbanism Report
Demystifying urbanist jargon
Market Urbanists are down in the trenches
We are explicitly ideological, Scott is more pragmatic
Urban issues have a natural affinity for libertarian solutions - becuase they work
Three broad categories - Housing, Transportation, and Governance
The Anarchitecture Podcast All-Star Game (details in links below)

 

Discussion

 

What is Market Urbanism?
Cross between free-market policy and urban issues
Theory - how would decentralized private cities work?
Practical set of policy reforms
Market oriented reforms

How did Scott get interested in these ideas?
Living in cities, interested in urban issues
Why are projects hard to get approved?
Why do downtowns empty out at 5PM?
Research led to more libertarian understanding
Influential writers
MarketUrbanism.com
Jane Jacobs
Ed Glaeser

We see urbanism as a conduit to bring libertarian / free market ideas to a broader audience
People think of cities as complex infrastructure managed by big government
A more granular look is more libertarian - the "Street Ballet" of voluntary exchange
"When cities follow that libertarian impulse, they do really well."
Nobody has planned the allocation of specific businesses and residences

Housing
Market Urbanism approach - a free-flowing, unregulated, market-oriented process
Theory - How would cities develop under a free market?
Practical - specific problems and policies in cities
Restrictive Zoning
Single Family Zoning in hot markets
San Francisco - around 75% zoned for single family or duplex
"The city cannot change."
Setback Requirements
Lot Coverage Requirements
Parking Minimums
Density Requirements
Minimum Lot Size - an historic 6-unit building restricted to 2 units

Counterintuitive zoning - do the planning boards even understand these impacts?
The empty husk - 8-story building limited to 12 units means the units will be large and unaffordable
No, they don't understand

What has motivated zoning requirements?
Early 20th century; cities grew using a combination of private deed restrictions and municipal zoning
Racism and classism - "they thought that was a good thing!"
Separating industry from housing
Euclid v. Amber - "Euclidean Zoning"
Late 20th century; more subjective and aesthetic, more complex

Do cities have a responsibility to preserve property values?
No - zoning should not be a protection for special interests
The irony - absent the regulations, property values would increase
MUH CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD
If a potential buyer can subdivide my lot, that increases my property value - capturing the location value twice

Policy success - "by-right" incremental development allowed in some states
ADU - Accessory Dwelling Unit; an additional unit on a single family property
Attached: basement apartment
Detached: backyard cottage, granny flat
"We won't build proper housing for the Millenials, but we'll put them in the basement."
ADU - a fiction created by zoning ordinances - the state taketh, then giveth back but a mere morsel
It's better than nothing, but we need new housing

Filtering
The more new houses you build, the cheaper old houses become (in elastic markets)

Gentrification
Less than 10% of people get displaced, and relocate to a similar quality neighborhood (see links below)
Existing owners tend to benefit from positive externalities
Middle ground - allow the new developments, give housing vouchers
You can't prevent neighborhoods from changing

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) - "Rent Control 2.0"
Allow developers to build to a certain level if they allocate a percentage of "Affordable" units
IZ tends to reduce the overall supply of housing by making projects less feasible

Transportation
Theory - Can a market provide sufficient transit efficiency?
Examples of privatizated transport
Mexico City - Paseros - "The Uber of Driving!"
Uber - The Paseros of America

"Who will build the roads?"
Alain Bertaud - Order Without Design - Does the government need to build key infrastructure?
Right-of-ways in developed places
Brightline High Speed Rail (HSR) - Miami to Fort Lauderdale
Proposed bullet trains hitting right of way issues
Acela train - slows down through every Connecticut NIMBY town
Trade-offs between nuisances and benefits
Direct negotiations vs. government mediated negotiations
Coase Theorem - if you want to obstruct development, you need to pay for that right
Pigouvian tax
Mitigation rather than obstruction
If you live in NYC, you should expect tall buildings around you
High speed rail can increase property values - sell it for a windfall and move away from the nuisance

Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
Value capture - train companies own and develop surrounding land plots to fund the rail
In USA, regulatory hurdles prevent TOD
For state owned transit agencies, there is no profit motive to develop

How do you manage a complex street grid?
Pricing different uses; NO FREE PARKING
Bus operators could out-bid cars for street space
Privatizing public space
Market pricing for street space could entice further investment

Pricing sidewalks and curb space
Buses and bike share could carve out their spaces
Scattered scooters - tragedy of the commons
Prohibition and monopoly contracts for scooters

There is no free parking
No market incentive to build a small commercial garage
Charge market rates for on-street parking
Balancing the interest of local business owners - "We'll see how valuable it is to him"
In urban contexts, most customers aren't driving to your store
Increasing the cost of parking makes other transit options more attractive
"Drivers in Boston are jerks, but drivers in Manhattan are just insane"
The less space you allocate to parking, the more space you have for street beautification

Car-free streets
Social distancing promotes outdoor seating
"Let the market work; let the consumer decide"

City Governance
City services shouldn't be government-run
Charter Schools
Privatizing (or "divesting", or "DESTATALIZING") public space
Value Capture
Land Value Tax - recoup value of improvements for reinvestment
Government provision - no pricing feedback loops
User Fees - direct market feedback
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) - tax on incremental value of a specific amenity
What about people who can't afford fees?
Guaranteed minimum income
Voucher model - rather than funding an MTA, give people transit vouchers and let the market determine transit modalities
Let wealth redistribution be a separate, more efficient system
Neoliberalism - "Fund People, not Beauraucracy"
Obstacles are political - vested interests, patronage mills

What impact is Market Urbanism having?
It's more in the "ideas" stage
YIMBY movement pushing similar message
Strong Towns movement
Congress for New Urbanism (CNU)
Anarchitecture
State level bills to make housing legal by-right
We've seen a good response among libertarians

 

Links/Resources

 

Market Urbanism Report
What is Market Urbanism?
Podcast
Facebook Page
Facebook Group
Scott Beyer on Facebook
Twitter (@sbcrosscountry)
Instagram

MarketUrbanism.com
Free Private Cities Architecture Symposium 2020 featuring Scott Beyer, Patrik Schumacher, and Titus Gebel
Euclid v. Amber (Wikipedia)
The Fifth Column Podcast Episode 188 "On Anti-Racism (Part II)
Coleman Hughes discusses gentrification starting at 1:22:50
Coleman Hughes: Why do Progressives Hate Gentrification? (Quillette)
The Effects of Gentrification on the Well-Being and Opportunity of Original Resident Adults and Children (PDF) working paper by Quentin Brummet and Davin Reed

Coase Theorem (Wikipedia)
Alain Bertaud - Order Without Design (Amazon)
Congress for a New Urbanism
Strong Towns
The YIMBY movement (Wikipedia)

 

Episodes Mentioned

 

ana018: Startup Cities with Adam Hengels and Patrik Schumacher
Public Space Series
Patrik Schumacher Series
ana025: Free Private Cities | Titus Gebel Interview