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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Rise Of Market Urbanism, Michael Lewyn Jun 2018

The Rise Of Market Urbanism, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Compares market urbanism to new urbanism and to defenders of suburban sprawl. Like new urbanists, market urbanists find urban life to be socially valuable, and emphasize that sprawl is not always in line with consumer preferences. But market urbanists are more likely to emphasize the role of government regulation in creating suburbanization, and to oppose anti-sprawl land use regulations.


Market Urbanism, Michael Lewyn Apr 2018

Market Urbanism, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A speech comparing market urbanism and new urbanism.


The Neighborhood Veto And Its Discontents, Michael Lewyn Feb 2018

The Neighborhood Veto And Its Discontents, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Discusses negative side effects of neighborhood input on land use decisions related to housing. In particular, my speech suggests that the "neighborhood veto" over rezonings increases housing supply by reducing housing prices, and makes development more car-oriented by reducing population density.


Suburbia, Gentrification And Jews, Michael Lewyn Feb 2017

Suburbia, Gentrification And Jews, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Has the gentrification of recent decades arrested the 20th-century movement of Jews to suburbia? After reviewing Jewish population surveys, I conclude that in most cities, the Jewish intown population has increased modestly. I also discuss why some cities' Jewish populations are more suburbanized more than others.


My Planetizen Blog Posts July-August 2017, Michael Lewyn Dec 2016

My Planetizen Blog Posts July-August 2017, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Blog posts reprinted from planetizen.com


2015 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn Dec 2016

2015 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

My blog posts at the Congress for New Urbanism (cnu.org) website, obtained at archive.org. Unfortunately, a few posts (mostly from May) still have not been found.


Attacking Smart Growth, Michael Lewyn Dec 2016

Attacking Smart Growth, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Review of The Human City, by Joel Kotkin


Planetizen.Com Blog Posts First Half Of 2017, Michael Lewyn Dec 2016

Planetizen.Com Blog Posts First Half Of 2017, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Blog posts on urban issues. Original versions on planetizen.com


The Middle Class, Urban Schools And Choice, Michael Lewyn Oct 2016

The Middle Class, Urban Schools And Choice, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Urban schools tend to be less attractive to middle-class parents than suburban schools; as a result, the public school system generates suburban sprawl.  This talk discusses both egalitarian and market-oriented means of making cities more attractive to parents.


The New Nuisance: An Antidote To Wetland Loss, Sprawl, And Global Warming, Christine A. Klein Apr 2016

The New Nuisance: An Antidote To Wetland Loss, Sprawl, And Global Warming, Christine A. Klein

Christine A. Klein

Marking the fifteenth anniversary of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council -- the modern U.S. Supreme Court's seminal regulatory takings decision -- this Article surveys Lucas's impact upon regulations that restrict wetland filling, sprawling development, and the emission of greenhouse gases. The Lucas Court set forth a new categorical rule of governmental liability for regulations that prohibit all economically beneficial use of land, but also established a new defense that draws upon the states' common law of nuisance and property. Unexpectedly, that defense has taken on a life of its own -- forming what this Article calls the new …


2016 Market Urbanism Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn Dec 2015

2016 Market Urbanism Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Available at marketurbanism.com


2016 Planetizen.Com Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn Dec 2015

2016 Planetizen.Com Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Blog posts on urban and suburban issues. Originals at planetizen.com


The Middle Class, Urban Schools, And Choice, Michael Lewyn Dec 2015

The Middle Class, Urban Schools, And Choice, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

It is common knowledge that middle- and upper-class parents tend to disfavor urban public schools, and often move to suburbs in order to avoid having to send their children to those schools. Thus, the condition of urban public schools contributes to suburban sprawl- that is, the movement of people and jobs from city to suburb. 

            This article discusses a variety of possible solutions to the unpopularity of urban schools among middle-class parents.  Part I of the Article suggests that this problem is a cause as well as a result of middle-class flight: that is, urban schools have poor reputations …


How To Make Suburbia Less Sprawling, Michael Lewyn Dec 2015

How To Make Suburbia Less Sprawling, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Review of Retrofitting Sprawl, edited by Emily Talen.


Yes To Infill, No To Nuisance, Michael Lewyn Apr 2015

Yes To Infill, No To Nuisance, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

This article argues against the use of private nuisance suits to exclude apartments from residential neighborhoods, based on the public interest in affordable housing and walkable infill development.


How Suburbia Happened In Toronto, Michael Lewyn Mar 2015

How Suburbia Happened In Toronto, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

No abstract provided.


How Often Do Cities Mandate Smart Growth Or Green Building?, Michael Lewyn Mar 2015

How Often Do Cities Mandate Smart Growth Or Green Building?, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Much has been written about the role of government regulation in facilitating automobile-oriented sprawl. Zoning codes reduce walkability by artificially segregating housing from commerce, forcing businesses and multifamily landlords to surround their buildings with parking, and artificially reducing density. The “smart growth” movement seeks to reverse these policies, both through regulation and through more libertarian, deregulatory policies. The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent cities have in fact chosen the former path, and to discuss the possible side effects of prescriptive smart growth and green building regulations. In particular, this paper focuses on attempts to make …


Smart Growth-Oriented Density And Parking Regulations, Michael Lewyn Feb 2015

Smart Growth-Oriented Density And Parking Regulations, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Many articles have been written about pro-sprawl land use regulation, such as minimum parking requirements. This speech, by contrast, focuses on the frequency of land use regulation designed to increase walkability- in particular, minimum density requirements and maximum parking requirements. I conclude that the first type of regulation is quite rare and usually very lenient. The second type of regulation is more frequent; however, the impact of maximum parking requirements is not yet clear.


No Parking Anytime: The Legality And Wisdom Of Maximum Parking And Minimum Density Requirements, Michael Lewyn, Judd Schechtman Dec 2014

No Parking Anytime: The Legality And Wisdom Of Maximum Parking And Minimum Density Requirements, Michael Lewyn, Judd Schechtman

Michael E Lewyn

This article focuses on two aspects of smart growth policy that have thus far received little attention: maximum parking and minimum density requirements. To ascertain the frequency of such regulations, we examine the zoning regulations of twenty-four mid-sized cities, defined as those with populations between 500,000 and one million residents. The article concludes that the first type of regulation is somewhat common, but is usually restricted to certain types of land uses or sections of a city. Minimum density requirements, by contrast, are quite rare and quite lenient. Because these types of regulations have received little scholarly attention and are …


American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn Dec 2014

American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Review of Zoned In The USA, by Sonia Hirt.


The (Somewhat) False Hope Of Comprehensive Planning, Michael Lewyn Dec 2014

The (Somewhat) False Hope Of Comprehensive Planning, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Some commentators equate municipal comprehensive plans with "smart" growth (that is, development that considers the needs of nondrivers as well as the needs of automobiles). However, comprehensive planning. although desirable, is neither necessary nor sufficient for smart growth. Plans are not necessary because zoning reforms can achieve the same smart growth objectives as plans, and are not sufficient because many comprehensive plans support sprawl rather than smart growth.


2015 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn Dec 2014

2015 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2015 blog posts on urban issues from planetizen.com


How To Make America Walkable, Michael Lewyn Dec 2013

How To Make America Walkable, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Review of Walkable City, by Jeff Speck


Suburban Sprawl: Weaker But Still Alive, Michael Lewyn Dec 2013

Suburban Sprawl: Weaker But Still Alive, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Review of The End of the Suburbs, by Leigh Gallagher.


Suburbs As Exit, Suburbs As Entrance, Nicole Stelle Garnett Nov 2013

Suburbs As Exit, Suburbs As Entrance, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Nicole Stelle Garnett

Most academics assume that suburbanites are exiters who have abandoned central cities. The exit story is a foundational one in the fields of land-use and local-government law: Exiters' historical, social, and economic connections with their center cities are frequently used to justify both growth controls and regional government. The exit story, however, no longer captures the American suburban experience. For a majority of Americans, suburbs have become points of entrance to, not of exit from, urban life. Most suburbanites are enterers - people who were born in, or migrated directly to, suburbs and who have not spent time living in …


The (Somewhat) False Hope Of Comprehensive Planning, Michael Lewyn Sep 2013

The (Somewhat) False Hope Of Comprehensive Planning, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Comprehensive planning at the municipal level, although useful in a variety of ways, is neither necessary nor sufficient to promote "smart" (that is, pedestrian and transit-oriented) growth. Comprehensive plans can be used to support sprawl as easily as to support smart growth, while smart growth may be promoted effectively through zoning reform or statewide legislation as well as through local planning.


How Comprehensive Planning Makes Suburbia More Sprawling, Michael Lewyn Jun 2013

How Comprehensive Planning Makes Suburbia More Sprawling, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Many commentators associate comprehensive land use planning with smart growth- but in fact, municipal plans can be used to further sprawl as well as smart growth.


Plans Are Not Enough, Michael Lewyn Dec 2012

Plans Are Not Enough, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Some commentators see comprehensive municipal plans as a remedy for suburban sprawl. But in fact, a plan can be used to promote sprawl as well as to prevent sprawl.


2013 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn Dec 2012

2013 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Blog posts from the now-defunct CNU Salons page at cnu.org


Why (And How) Conservatives Should Support Smart Growth, Michael Lewyn Dec 2012

Why (And How) Conservatives Should Support Smart Growth, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Conservatives have generally been critical of the smart growth movement, because they often fear that smart growth is synonymous with overregulation of land use. This article explains why sprawl threatens conservative values, and suggests conservative-friendly smart growth policies that can both make government less intrusive and make America more walkable.