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Law and Society

Selected Works

Michael E Lewyn

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Law

Health And Safety Overregulation, Michael Lewyn Jan 2017

Health And Safety Overregulation, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Anti-jaywalking laws are designed to protect the safety of pedestrians. Similarly, police and child protection officials punish parents who allow their children to walk to school, in the name of child safety. This speech criticizes these policies and their justifications.

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The Criminalization Of Walking, Michael Lewyn Dec 2016

The Criminalization Of Walking, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The simple act of walking is sometimes criminalized in the United States. Anti-jaywalking statutes and ordinances—originally motivated by auto-industry lobbyists in the 1920s—call for fines and, sometimes, imprisonment for crossing the street. Additionally, some localities have interpreted statutes against “child neglect” to encompass a parent’s decision to let their kid walk outside alone. The result of this criminalization? Such policies have reduced pedestrian liberty, increased automobile traffic and pollution, and created a disincentive for physical activity in the midst of an obesity and diabetes epidemic. In addition to discussing these effects, this Article argues that the purported safety benefits of …

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Does The Threat Of Gentrification Justify Restrictive Zoning?, Michael Lewyn Dec 2016

Does The Threat Of Gentrification Justify Restrictive Zoning?, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Historically, progressives have opposed restrictive zoning, arguing that by restricting the housing supply to high-end housing, zoning reduces the supply of housing available to lower-income Americans. But recently, some progressives have suggested that new market-rate housing facilitates gentrification and displacement of lower-income renters. This article critically examines that theory.

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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.

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Learning From Detroit, Michael Lewyn Dec 2013

Learning From Detroit, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Reviews a recent book about Detroit's problems.

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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.

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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.

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