The Antiplanner

Dedicated to the sunset of government planning

12:20 AM
More Support for Abolishing New Starts : Today, the Cato Institute releases my policy paper on the Federal Transit Administration’s “New Starts” program that gives about $2 billion a year in grants to cities to build new streetcar, low-capac...
The Antiplanner
Jun 18
Recreation Fee Testimony : The Antiplanner is testifying this morning before the House Public Lands Subcommittee in favor of allowing federal land agencies to charge dispersed recreation fees (agencies today can charge for deve...
The Antiplanner
Jun 17
Back in the Air Again : The Antiplanner is traveling to Washington DC today where I’ll testify tomorrow before the House Public Lands Subcommittee on federal land recreation fees....
The Antiplanner
Jun 12
They’ll Do It Every Time : A middle-class urban planner sees a working-class neighborhood and says, “I wouldn’t want to live there....
The Antiplanner
Jun 11
The Great Society Subway Slowly Grinds to a Halt : Some called it the Great Society Subway, and like a metaphor for the failure of Lyndon Johnson’s grandiose plans, the Washington Metro Rail system is slowly breaking down....
The Antiplanner
Jun 9
Killing Our Economy : Those who believe in human-caused climate change often point out that skeptics are most likely to be economic conservatives who don’t like the idea of problems that can’t be solved by the free market....
The Antiplanner
Jun 7
Trend or Coercion? : The Wall Street Journal reports that the “latest urban trend” is “less elbow room” as measured by an increase in accessory units and additional homes built on the lots once occupied by only one home....
The Antiplanner
Jun 6
Will the Feds Sideline Driverless Cars? : “Feds ask states to sideline driverless cars,” warns Forbes magazine. That’s actually a bit of a stretch....
The Antiplanner
Jun 5
Smugness Alert : Young people have been told so often that they are especially virtuous for living in inner cities and riding transit instead of driving that they have developed a serious epidemic of smugness....
The Antiplanner
Jun 4
High-Speed Rail in Court : Last Friday, opponents of California’s high-speed rail line told a California state judge that the California High-Speed Rail Authority has not met all the requirements to start building the first sta...
The Antiplanner
Jun 3
A Look Back at Oregon’s Senate Bill 100 : Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the passage of Oregon’s “landmark” land-use law, known as Senate Bill 100, a columnist with the Salem Statesman-Journal looks back at the history of the passage a...
The Antiplanner
May 31
Debate Over Plan Bay Area : The Antiplanner’s presentation at last night’s debate over Plan Bay Area is now available in PowerPoint or PDF format. You can also download Tom Rubin’s presentation in PDF format....
The Antiplanner
May 30
What Infrastructure Deficit? : An economist named Ed Dolan who lives in Washington state opines that the collapse of the Skagit River Bridge reveals an “infrastructure deficit.” That’s certainly the prevailing wisdom....
The Antiplanner
May 29
Plan Bay Area Debate : The Antiplanner will be in Marin County, California tomorrow to debate Plan Bay Area, the “sustainability” plan for the nine-county region....
The Antiplanner
May 28
Suburbs Burn as Swedes Reject TODs : Reports of riots in Stockholm suburbs probably brings to American minds images of single-family homes and SUVs burning....
The Antiplanner
May 24
Skagit River Bridge Collapse : Within minutes of the announcement that a bridge on Interstate 5 in Washington state had collapsed, people posted comments saying that this was further proof that our infrastructure was in terrible sh...
The Antiplanner
May 24
Should Free-Market Advocates Support Limits on Food Stamps? : Here’s a toughie. Assume you support free-markets. That means you probably oppose government limits on what foods people can buy, such as New York Mayor Bloomberg’s so-called Big Gulp ban....
The Antiplanner