Law Commons^™

The False Hope Of Comprehensive Planning, Michael Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

Some commentators on sprawl and smart growth speak of municipal comprehensive plans and sprawl as polar opposites: but in fact, a comprehensive plan can be used to further auto-oriented sprawl just as easily as it can be used to encourage more pedestrian-friendly development. This speech uses parts of Jacksonville, Florida's plan as examples of pro-sprawl planning.

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"

Sprawl In Canada And The United States (Powerpoint), Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

PowerPoints for a speech explaining that sprawl in Canada is (1) less extensive than in the USA and (2) caused partially by government regulation.

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.

Sprawl In Canada And The United States, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain (1) whether suburban sprawl is as widespread in Canadian metropolitan areas as in their American counterparts, and (2) whether Canadian government policies, and in particular Canadian municipal land use and transportation policies, encourage sprawl. The thesis concludes that sprawl is less widespread in two respects. First, Canadian central cities have not declined to the same extent as American central cities. Second, urban and suburban Canadians are less dependent on automobiles than are Americans. The thesis goes on to point out that in Canada, as in the United States, government land use and …

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 …

Watts My Line? Energy Generation Siting Strategies For Urban Areas, Caleb W. Christopher

Caleb W Christopher

The growth of urban areas has historically been both constrained and encouraged by energy and related infrastructure. Varying degrees of regulation have been sought to respond to compelling public safety needs: more recently, modern environmental law system was derived from public conflicts over siting of an energy plant. While the greater urban density offers reduced per-capita energy consumption rates, contemporary urban revitalization has brought a greater amount of people into closer contact with their energy sources. The unique geography, and increased securities needs, of urban areas demand both reliability and local proximity in energy source production. Urban siting issues will …

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.

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.