Land-Use Regulation & Income Inequality
Harvard economists have proven one of the major theses of American Nightmare, which is that land-use regulation is a major cause of growing income inequality in the United States. By restricting labor mobility, the economists say, such regulation has played a “central role” in income disparities. When measured on a state-by-state basis, American income inequality […]
2011: A Very Good Year
This past year has been very good for antiplanners. In February, the Antiplanner had an op ed in National Review opposing high-speed rail that summarized years of research on the subject. The Antiplanner also argued that Florida was the linch pin of President Obama’s planned national high-speed rail system. Just a week after the National […]
Christmas Present
The 2010 National Transit Database has been available for a few weeks. As usual, it comes in two formats: either some 34 data tables that are easy to read but difficult to manipulate in Excel or some 20 data files that are easy to manipulate in Excel but difficult to read. The Antiplanner has summarized […]
Best Wishes for the Solstice and New Year
Three-Fingered Jack in the Oregon Cascades. Click to see the full greeting. The Antiplanner wishes everyone a happy holiday and productive new year.
Colorado's all-payer database poses serious risk, little gain
by Amy Oliver, Linda Gorman Colorado state government, and local foundations and health policy elites, have become so ideologically invested in failed health reform policies that they now see nothing wrong with forcing Colorado citizens to give their medical records to a centralized repository, free from scrutiny by state auditors, open records requests and open […]
Trains Falling Apart
Washington Metro trains are so poorly maintained that parts falling off of the railcars are damaging later trains, leading to the tunnels filling with smoke and the evacuation of several trains. This has some people reconsidering their transportation habits. “Today is my last day as a full time Orange Line commuter after almost 10 yrs,” […]
Heroes or Heels?
Last week, the Atlantic web site published an article about the brave Tea Party activists who are challenging the evil urban planners who are interfering with property rights and attempting to socially engineer American cities. Except, the article’s writer, Anthony Flint, seemed to think that was a bad thing. Some idea of Flint can be […]
EPA report is blessing in disguise for fracking advocates
by Donovan Schafer In a recent report, the EPA linked groundwater contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, to the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) used to extract oil and gas. You can almost hear the collective “Hooray!” from anti-fracking advocates. But the actual data in the EPA report make it clear that fracking is safe. The […]
When the Facts Change, Some Minds Don’t
John Maynard Keynes is supposed to have said, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” For many politicians including President Obama, the answer is, “I ignore the facts and stick to my preconceived notions.” Back in 2008, California voters approved high-speed rail based on the promises that, at a […]
Saving High Street
It’s not enough for planners to control where people live. Now they want to control where people shop. British planner Mary Portas has unveiled a 28-point plan for saving High Street (the Britishism for what Americans would call downtown). The most important part of the plan would prevent anyone from building a suburban shopping center […]
Coincidence? Maybe, Maybe Not
Last Friday, December 9, the Detroit News published the Antiplanner’s critique of Detroit’s proposed Woodward light-rail line. On Tuesday, December 13, “the feds, the governor and the mayor” decided that bus-rapid transit makes more sense, so they killed the light-rail plan.
Highway Cost Overruns
Numerous state highway programs have suffered cost overruns, say the Gannett papers (which include USA Today). What’s striking from the story, however, is how small and rare the cost overruns really are. The papers found overruns in 19 states, but they focused on projects that actually had overruns and did not reveal how many projects […]
