Posts Tagged ‘ordinances’

Free-Market Parking

Today I want to take a look at the free-enterprise approach to parking in more detail. Let’s look at why the free-enterprise system makes sense in the first place, then we’ll try to understand why free-market parking solutions would work in Houston. The common-sense argument against parking regulations First, remember that the traffic patterns flowing to [...]

A Tale of Two Shops

Today I want to take a look at two local businesses, and see what they can teach us about the reality of parking and the ability of parking ordinances to address parking supply and demand. The two business are both located on West Alabama St., near the intersection of West Alabama and Hazard. My home [...]

Houston and the Free Market

Tory Gattis had a great post on Monday in which he reviewed some news from late ’08. Two major highlights: 1. A comprehensive study by the Brookings Institution found that congestion pricing of freeways “would reduce housing costs and sprawl. It eliminates the subsidy for living farther out, which drives up demand and density in [...]

Whatever shall we do…

“How can we save the suburbs?” asks Allison Arieff. In urban areas, there’s rich precedent for the transformation or reuse of abandoned lots or buildings. Vacant lots have been converted into pocket parks, community gardens and pop-up stores (or they remain vacant, anxiously awaiting recovery and subsequent conversion into high-end office space condos). Old homes [...]