Law Commons^™

2011 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

What Would Coase Do? (About Parking Regulation), Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

American municipalities typically require landowners to provide visitors and guests with ample amounts of parking, in order to prevent externalities such as cruising (drivers wasting gasoline and polluting the air while searching for scarce parking). However, minimum parking requirements may create social harms that outweigh this benefit. By artificially increasing the supply of parking, minimum parking requirements effectively subsidize driving, thus increasing rather than decreasing pollution and congestion.

2010 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A Libertarian Smart Growth Agenda, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Discusses a variety of policies that both limit sprawl and enhance, rather than reducing, landowners' property rights.

Public Transit: Myth And Reality, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Rebuts myth that public transit is inherently unpopular by pointing out that where development is compact and streets are walkable, transit ridership tends to be higher.

Keep It Local, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Criticizes state-imposed limits on local taxation on the ground that state governments have no legitimate interest in setting local tax rates.

A Tale Of Two School Systems, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Explains that suburban schools are more popular than urban schools primarily due to their more socially homogenous student bodies, and suggests that urban school systems seek to retain students through expanded magnet school programs.

2009 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2008 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2008-09 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Why Pedestrian-Friendly Street Design Is Not Negligent, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

American streets are typically designed for fast automobile traffic. As a result, those streets are often dangerous for pedestrians.

In part, the anti-pedestrian design of American streets is a result of transportation planners' perceptions of American tort law. In negligent street design cases, courts and juries sometimes rely upon guidelines set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), a national association of government transportation officials. Because AASHTO's street-design rules have historically favored wide streets built to accommodate high-speed traffic, planners sometimes assume that in order to avoid liability, they must do the same.

The purpose of …

Five Myths About Sprawl , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

In Sprawl: A Compact History, Robert Bruegmann, an art historian, has painted a superficially convincing case for the status quo, asserting that sprawl is “a natural result of affluence that occurs in all urbanized societies.” Bruegmann's book has generated glowing media publicity. This article suggests that Bruegmann overestimates the universality of sprawl, by overlooking the differences between pedestrian-friendly cities with some sprawling development and cities in which automobile-dependent sprawl is the only choice available to most consumers. In addition, Bruegmann understates the harmful social effects of sprawl, especially the effect of automobile-dependent development upon non-drivers. Bruegmann also consistently underestimates the …

How Government Regulation Forces Americans Into Their Cars: A Case Study, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Shows how zoning law in Jacksonville contributes to automobile dependence.

Planners Gone Wild: The Overregulation Of Parking, Michael E Lewyn, Shane Cralle

Michael E Lewyn

A review of Donald Shoup's book, The High Cost of Free Parking (to be published in William Mitchell Law Review).

How City Hall Causes Sprawl - A Case Study, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A book review addressing the city of Atlanta's pro-sprawl transportation, zoning and urban renewal policies.

Twenty-First Century Planning And The Constitution, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

In 2002, The American Planning Association (APA), a nationwide organization of land use planners, published the "Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook", a collection of model laws governing zoning and other land use-related issues. This article evaluates a variety of constitutional issues related to the Guidebook.

Sprawl, Growth Boundaries And The Rehnquist Court , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

This article addresses the constitutionality and wisdom of Oregon's urban growth boundary (UGB) program. The article concludes that the program is constitutional under current precedent, and that (contrary to claims made by UGB critics) there is little evidence that the UGB has caused Oregon's runup in housing prices. On the other hand, UGB supporters may have exaggerated the UGB's positive environmental results.

Campaign Of Sabotage: Big Government's War Against Public Transportation , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

This article discusses a variety of state, federal and local policies which have reduced transit ridership, such as unfunded mandates, anti-transit zoning policies, and highway funding policies that shifted development to areas with minimal or nonexistent transit service.

"Thou Shalt Not Put A Stumbling Block Before The Blind": The Americans With Disabilities Act And Public Transit For The Disabled, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ordered local governments to make bus and train systems more accessible to the disabled. The ADA imposed costly requirements upon local public transit systems but did not give local governments funds with which to satisfy this mandate. By reducing the funds available to transit systems, the ADA has sometimes forced cutbacks in transit service for everyone (including, ironically, the disabled to the extent that disabled people were able to use public transit before the ADA's enactment). Thus, the ADA has occasionally been counterproductive.

The root cause of the ADA's inadequacy is that the ADA …

Buffalo Beat Op-Eds, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Assorted op-eds from Buffalo Beat, a Buffalo weekly (1998-2001)

Suburban Sprawl: Not Just An Environmental Issue, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Explains why conservatives should be concerned about suburban sprawl, and how market-oriented solutions can mitigate sprawl.

When Is Cumulative Voting Preferable To Single-Member Districting?, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Cumulative voting is most appropriate in small towns, nonpartisan elections, and jurisdictions in which voters know whether they are in the majority. By contrast, single-member districts are preferable to cumulative voting in big cities, state or federal elections, partisan elections, and elections in which the racial or partisan balance between factions is either close or is unknown to most voters.

How Radical Is Lani Guinier? , Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

In 1993, Lani Guinier was nominated to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Her nomination was withdrawn after she was accused of being too liberal, if not radical, on issues relating to voting rights law. This article discusses her views, and finds that her writings were not clear enough to either support or debunk the accusations of radicalism.

How To Limit Gerrymandering, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

An extensive discussion of constitutional issues related to partisan gerrymandering.