Law Commons^™

Midat Sodom And The Housing Affordability Crisis, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Planetizen Blog Posts- First Half Of 2019, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The Neighborhood Veto And Its Discontents, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Powerpoint- Setback Speech, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2015 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

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

Michael E Lewyn

Planetizen Blog Posts September-December 2017, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2017 Market Urbanism Report Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The Roots Of Expensive Zoning, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2016 Market Urbanism Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

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

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.

Against The Neighborhood Veto, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

American zoning often gives neighborhoods elective veto power over nearby real estate development. This “neighborhood veto” sometimes artificially reduces housing supply and urban density, thus making housing more expensive and making American cities more dependent on automobiles. This article criticizes the common arguments that neighborhood activists use to restrict development.

Is An Apartment A Nuisance?, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

In an ongoing Texas lawsuit, some homeowners allege that a nearby apartment building will constitute a nuisance. This article asserts that courts should generally reject nuisance claims against multifamily housing, based on the public interest in favor of increased housing supply and infill development.

Internally Buffered Districts: A New Technique To Make Zoning Less Exclusionary, William Leaf, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

American Dreams, American Realities, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Review of Zoned In The USA, by Sonia Hirt.

2014 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Why Leave It To The Liberals? Conservative Views On Smart Growth, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Part of panel discussion on "Why Leave It To The Liberals? Conservative Views on Smart Growth"

Land Use Regulation: It Just Gets Worse, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Some commentators treat suburban sprawl (by which I mean automobile-dependent land development) as the result of the free market at work. This article reviews City Rules, by urban planning professor Emily Talen. In this book, Talen shows not only how zoning and similar land use regulations generate automobile-dependent suburban sprawl, but also how these regulations have become stricter, more pro-sprawl, and more complex over time. Talen proposes to reform these regulations through municipal codes that promote more walkable, less automobile-dependent development.

Sprawl In Canada And The United States, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The purpose of this Article is to ascertain whether (1) suburban sprawl is as widespread in Canadian metropolitan areas as in their American counterparts, and (2) Canadian government policies, and in particular Canadian zoning law and transportation policies, encourage sprawl. The article concludes that Canadian metropolitan areas are in fact somewhat less sprawling than most of their American counterparts, but that in Canada, as in the United States, government land use regulation and government transportation policy do favor sprawl to some extent. For example, in both nations municipal zoning regulations, by limiting density and forcing landowners to build parking lots, …

Regulated Into Automobile Dependence: How City Hall Mandates Sprawl And What Planners Can Do About It, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A brief (about 20-minute) speech explaining why government regulation promotes automobile-dependent development.

2010 Planetizen Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

2008-09 Cnu Blog Posts, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

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.

You Can Have It All: Less Sprawl And Property Rights Too, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The article describes two visions of suburban development, a “smart growth” vision which critiques automobile-dependent suburban sprawl, and a “property rights” vision which emphasizes individual freedom. The article then shows that these visions are to a great extent reconcilable, by discussing a variety of legal reforms which can both reduce suburban sprawl and enhance landowners’ property rights. For example, if zoning laws were reformed to allow landowners to build more compact developments, landowners would obviously have a wider range of options (thus enhancing property rights) and more people could live within walking distance of jobs, shops and public transit (thus …

New Urbanist Zoning For Dummies, Michael E Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

This article compares the SmartCode (a model New Urbanist zoning code) to conventional pro-sprawl zoning codes, and concludes that in some respects, the SmartCode is actually more respectful of property rights than is conventional zoning.

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.

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.