Abstract
The new urbanism argues that land-use planning should be used to create higher-density development and to promote alternatives to the use of personal automobiles for transportation. The concerns of the new urbanist movement are shown to be misplaced, and the goals of the new urbanism are shown to be in conflict with market incentives, making them difficult to implement in any event. A better policy for more efficient land use would be for governments to plan more effectively for their own infrastructure development while allowing the development of privately-owned land to be guided by market forces.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, T. L. and Leal, D. R. (1991) Free Market Environmentalism. San Francisco: Pacific Research Institute.
Anderson, T. L. and Leal, D. R. (1997) Enviro-Capitalists: Doing Good While Doing Well. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Bruegmann, R. (2001) “Urban Density and Sprawl: An Historic Perspective.” In: Holcombe, R. G. and Staley, S. R. (Eds.) Smarter Growth: Market-Based Strategies for Land-Use Planning in the 21st Century, pp. 155-177. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Calthorpe, P. (1993) The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community, and the American Dream. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Dantzig, G. B. and Saaty, T. L. (1973) Compact City: A Plan for a Livable Urban Environment. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Co.
Green, K. (2001) “Air Quality, Density, and Environmental Regulation.” In: Holcombe, R. G. and Staley, S. R. (Eds.) Smarter Growth: Market-Based Strategies for Land-Use Planning in the 21st Century, pp. 77-94. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Hayek, F. A. (1945) “The Use of Knowledge in Society.” American Economic Review, 35: 519-530.
Holcombe, R. G. (1990) “Growth Management in Florida: Lessons for the National Economy.” Cato Journal, 10: 109-125.
Holcombe, R. G. (2000) Land Use Planning for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
Holcombe, R. G. “Growth Management in Action: The Case of Florida.” In: Holcombe, R. G. and Staley, S. R. (Eds.) Smarter Growth: Market-Based Strategies for Land-Use Planning in the 21st Century, pp. 131-154.
Holcombe, R. G. and Staley, S. R. (2001) Smarter Growth: Market-Based Strategies for Land-Use Planning in the 21st Century. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Ikeda, S. (1997) Dynamics of the Mixed Economy: Toward a Theory of Interventionism. London: Routledge.
Katz, P. (1994) The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mises, L. von. (1981) Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Classics.
Putnam, R. (1995) “Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital.” Journal of Democracy, 6: 65-78.
Siegan, B. H. (1970) “Non-Zoning in Houston.” Journal of Law & Economics, 13: 71-147.
Siegan, B. H. (1972) Land Use Without Zoning. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.
Staley, S. R. (2000) The “Vanishing Farmland” Myth and the Smart-Growth Agenda. Policy Brief No. 12. Los Angeles: Reason Public Policy Institute.
Stiglitz, J. E. (1994) Whither Socialism. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Stein, J. M. (Ed.) (1993) Growth Management: The Planning Challenge of the 1990's. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holcombe, R.G. The New Urbanism Versus the Market Process. The Review of Austrian Economics 17, 285–300 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:RAEC.0000026836.66261.c1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:RAEC.0000026836.66261.c1