The City Journal

An argument that operational urban planning can be improved by the application of the tools of urban economics to the design of regulations and infrastructure. Urban planning is a craft learned through practice. Planners make rapid decisions that have an immediate impact on the ground—the width of streets, the minimum size of land parcels, the heights of buildings. The language they use to describe their objectives is qualitative—“sustainable,” “livable,” “resilient”—often with no link to measurable outcomes. Urban economics, on the other hand, is a quantitative science, based on theories, models, and empirical evidence largely developed in academic settings. In this book, the eminent urban planner Alain Bertaud argues that applying the theories of urban economics to the practice of urban planning would greatly improve both the productivity of cities and the welfare of urban citizens. Bertaud explains that markets provide the indispensable mechanism for cities’ development. He cites the experience of cities without markets for land or labor in pre-reform China and Russia; this “urban planners’ dream” created inefficiencies and waste. Drawing on five decades of urban planning experience in forty cities around the world, Bertaud links cities’ productivity to the size of their labor markets; argues that the design of infrastructure and markets can complement each other; examines the spatial distribution of land prices and densities; stresses the importance of mobility and affordability; and critiques the land use regulations in a number of cities that aim at redesigning existing cities instead of just trying to alleviate clear negative externalities. Bertaud concludes by describing the new role that joint teams of urban planners and economists could play to improve the way cities are managed.

Manufacturing Decline argues that antigovernment conservatives capitalized on--and perpetuated--Rust Belt cities' misfortunes by stoking racial resentment. Jason Hackworth traces how the conservative movement has used the imagery and ideas of urban decline since the 1970s to advance their cause.

Journal your time in the city! Here's the Dragon Dragon City Journal deal: You wander the world having adventures, exploring citie and such. Dragon Dragon offers you 200 pages to document your experiences. That's it. Simple. Beautiful. True. To help keep things organized, we've given each journal a unique city name. Wherever you go in this life, a Dragon Dragon City Journals can help make the going better and the remembering easier!

Fill up this paperback journal with your thoughts, words, sketches, and more! On the left-hand side you'll find blank pages whereas on the right-hand side there are lined pages. Perfect for note-taking, sketching quick ideas, or outlining that novel you've been dreaming of writing.

Journal your time in the city! Here's the Dragon Dragon City Journal deal: You wander the world having adventures, exploring citie and such. Dragon Dragon offers you 200 pages to document your experiences. That's it. Simple. Beautiful. True. To help keep things organized, we've given each journal a unique city name. Wherever you go in this life, a Dragon Dragon City Journals can help make the going better and the remembering easier!

A penetrating collection of articles drawn from the pages of City Journal, the quarterly magazine that has established a reputation for groundbreaking analytical reports on the urban scene.

A New York City creative journal. 100 blank pages in a 9" x 6" book. Dream, remember, care, visit, travel, gritty, beauty. Everything that is the city.

Journal your time in the city! Here's the Dragon Dragon City Journal deal: You wander the world having adventures, exploring citie and such. Dragon Dragon offers you 200 pages to document your experiences. That's it. Simple. Beautiful. True. To help keep things organized, we've given each journal a unique city name. Wherever you go in this life, a Dragon Dragon City Journals can help make the going better and the remembering easier!