Monday, March 8, 2010

Integrated, Neighborhood Schools; possible?

I just realized that one of my favorite authors, Jane Jacobs, in her book, "The Death and Birth of Great American Cities", stated that the one of the biggest obstacles to affordable, integrated, housing and integrated cities is the combination of zoning laws and neighborhood covenants. I would add to this Socialized Parking supported by Parking Requirements.

For a start, check out:
or

You can also see comments on her book at:

2 comments:

  1. Hey there, just saw your comment on LandCafe (or was it LandTheory) and decided to check out your blog.

    Georgists need to put more emphasis on the other--than-LVT issues that infringe the free operation of society. Like restrictive zoning -- which makes many places terrible places to live -- and other red tape.

    I was recently checking out a Chicago author who writes about neighborhood schools. I've planned to drop her a note ... whoops, put that back on my "To Do" list.

    Have you tried to contact Jane and let her know you like her work, and see what she knows about "our" issues such as LVT? I think more and more, these ideas are getting around in (truly) intellectual circles. So you may help nudge her toward looking further into it.

    Next thing we have to do is come up with a real Georgist program, a total package, and give it a political shape. A program that's national, yet local. This is an opportune time to do that, because that's where the smart people are going, and average folks are fed up with the usual nonsense. My plan is to write more about that type of thing on my blog ....

    Just Liberty

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  2. Thanks for your comments. I agree that we need to talk about increasing freedom. We need to talk about those restrictions that are place on it, that increase the gap between rich and poor, including zoning, as you mentioned. The parking requirement (socialized parking, I call it) is another biggie, a real job-killer, and it promotes higher land prices, which mean a person has to work more hours to earn the right (buying or renting) to use a given parcel of land.

    Jane Jacobs died in 2006, and I don't know who is continuing her line of thought.

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