Policy
SCOTUS Said Ambitious Climate Regulations Need To Come From Congress. Lawmakers Are Furious.
Plus: A new lawsuit challenges D.C.'s ban on carrying guns on public transit, Denver's latest housing affordability initiative will make the city more expensive, and more...
Christopher Alexander's Utopian Blueprint
There is telling people how to live, and there is maximizing people's ability to live the lives they want.
San Francisco Legalizes 'Missing Middle' Housing in the Worst Way Possible
Property owners can now build fourplexes in San Francisco, but only if they've owned the land for five years, place the new units under rent control, and don't try to make them much larger than a single-family home.
A New Jersey Town Wants To Charge This Woman $5,000 To Sell Cookies
Somerville still has costly regulations on the books even though New Jersey has legalized the sale of home-baked items.
Obamacare and SCOTUS, 10 Years Later
Even Obamacare's fiercest advocates say it has not lived up to its goals.
Is the Nation's Harshest Rent Control Law Unconstitutional, or Just Counterproductive?
Two St. Paul, Minnesota, landlords claim that the city's restrictions on rent increases above 3 percent amounts to a taking of their property without due process or compensation.
California's Competitors
Miami and Austin lured people away from California. But the new tech hubs could end up repeating San Francisco’s mistakes.
In a Surprise Move, the FDA Denies Approval for Juul Tobacco and Menthol Vapes
What was once a classic Silicon Valley success story has become the victim of an intensely ideological war on nicotine.
What John Oliver Gets Wrong About Rising Rents
The comedian largely ignores laws against new supply while arguing we should declare housing a federally funded, government-provided human right.
Environmentalists' Lawsuit Brings Minneapolis' YIMBY Success Story to a Screeching Halt
Three environmentalists groups had argued that the city failed to perform a state-required environmental analysis of its Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan.
A Bipartisan Tech Antitrust Bill May Soon Pass. It's Still a Bad Idea.
The legislation is likely to have a number of negative consequences for consumers.
Beyond NIMBY vs. YIMBY - How Current Homeowners Can Benefit from Zoning Deregulation
Even if the value of their property goes down, current homeowners still often have much to gain from breaking down barriers to new housing construction.
The Dangers of Rent Control on Display in the Twin Cities
St. Paul has seen a 61 percent decrease in building permits after the city imposed rent control on future housing.
Does Affordable Housing Make the Surrounding Neighborhood Less Affordable?
A Urban Institute research brief found that affordable housing developments in Alexandria, Virginia, were associated with a small increase in surrounding property values.
Portland Legalized 'Missing Middle' Housing. Now It's Trying to Make It Easy to Build.
This month, the city passed a number of liberalizing reforms that legalize more types of housing and make already-legal homes more practical to build.
Jared Polis Wants To Leave You Alone
Colorado's governor on parenting, partisanship, and sensible pandemic responses
Labyrinthine Zoning Rules Restricted Homeless Shelters During the Pandemic
As COVID-19 spread across the country, complex rules around land use and building permits made housing the poor and vulnerable effectively impossible.
You're Wrong About Disinformation
People believe and say things that aren't true all of the time, of course. But efforts by public officials to combat them may well make things worse, not better.
An Alabama Family Is Fighting a Losing Battle Against Eminent Domain
The Moore family has lived on their land for generations. Now the state of Alabama says their homes must make way for a highway.
Eric Adams Wants to Cut a Rug, Zoning Regulations
The mayor's 'City of Yes' initiative would peel back regulations on everything from dancing in bars to all-studio apartment buildings.
Saudi Prince's Plan for 'Walkable' City of Single-File Buildings Could Be Two Miles-Long Skyscrapers Instead
The idea is exactly as dumb as it sounds.
Biden Says Fighting Inflation Is His Top Economic Priority. His Antitrust Policy Would Make Inflation Worse.
Attacking big firms just for being big could drive up prices.
County Where It Took 50 Years To Approve New Subdivision Bans New Airbnbs
Officials in Marin County, California, argue a temporary moratorium on new short-term rentals in western portions of the county is necessary to preserve the area's limited housing stock.
Study: Jersey Girls' Refusal To Pump Gas Is Costing Everyone a Lot of Money
Research on the effects of Oregon's loosening of its self-service gas ban finds that allowing adults to pump their own gas increases supply and lowers prices.
The Traffic Death 'Crisis' Isn't What Bureaucrats Claim
Politicians overstate the situation, and to the extent there is a problem, it’s their doing.
Biden's Plan To Link Federal Transportation Spending to Zoning Reform Could Make the Housing Shortage Worse
The administration is encouraging counterproductive "inclusionary zoning" policies that often raise housing prices and reduce supply.
Bad Policy Creates Inflation and Opens the Door to Even Worse Ideas
When politicians break the economy, they hurt us in the short term but also create future opportunities to do harm in the name of undoing the damage they inflicted.
Is America's Primary Affordable Housing Policy Unconstitutional?
Pittsburgh-area developers argue in a new lawsuit that the city's requirement that they include affordable units in their projects is an unconstitutional taking.
Ninth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Arizona State's Trademark Lawsuit Over ASU_Covid.Parties Instagram Account
The account posted items such as (in mid-2020), "ASU: No More Social Distancing. No More Masks. It Is Time to Party!"
Elizabeth Warren Introduces Price-Gouging Bill That Fails To Define What Qualifies as Price Gouging
The bill would penalize companies for price gouging during times of war, public health emergencies, or natural disasters—which would have encompassed all of the last two years.
This Michigan Town Repealed a Ban on Fortunetellers, but Might Break State Law if It Tries To Regulate Them
Petoskey's draft ordinance would require both "legitimate" fortunetellers and people pretending to tell fortunes to be licensed, calling into question the sense of licensing at all.
Eliminating Single-Family Zoning Isn't the Reason Minneapolis Is a YIMBY Success Story
Housing production is rising and rents are falling. But newly legal duplexes and triplexes make up only a tiny fraction of new development.
NYC Mayor Defends Decision To Handcuff and Strip Search Woman Selling Mangos on a Subway Platform
Maria Falcon doesn't have a business license. So New York police officers detained her and confiscated all of her merchandise.
Problems With the Supply Chain Began Before the Pandemic. Here's What Biden Can Do About It.
Protectionist policies stymie trade and make Americans poorer.
Why Pro-Choice Blue States Should also be Pro-YIMBY
Atlantic writer Jerusalem Demsas argues that blue states can't give "refuge" to people fleeing abortion restrictions if they don't cut back on zoning restrictions that lead to sky-high housing costs.
Will People Vote With Their Feet for Abortion Rights in a Post-Roe World?
The answer to this important question is highly uncertain. I tentatively predict a significant, but still modest, increase in abortion-driven migration.
Montana's Ban on Mask Mandates Is Stopping Local Governments From Enforcing Their Zoning Codes
Officials in Gallatin County, Montana, say a state law that prohibits local governments from forcing businesses to turn customers away is preventing it from cracking down on zoning code violators.
Joe Biden Takes Another Stab at Zoning Reform
The administration is proposing to spend $10 billion over ten years incentivizing local and state governments to remove regulatory barriers to new housing construction.
Twitter, Facebook, Netflix, and the Myth of Permanent Platform Power
Today's big powerful companies could become tomorrow's also-rans, no government intervention required.
Her Dream Was To Open a Vegan Tattoo Shop. Zoning Officials Shut Her Down.
"It's a lot to try and put this stuff all together all on my own, using my own savings, and then having to start all over," says Venus Vegan Tattoo owner Selena Carrion.
Maine Could Be the Third State To End Single-Family-Only Zoning
The Pine Tree State is embracing California-style housing reforms. It could run into California-style problems.
