Order without Design

Viac o knihe

An argument is made for enhancing operational urban planning through the integration of urban economics into regulatory and infrastructure design. Urban planning is primarily a practical craft, where planners make swift decisions affecting immediate surroundings—such as street widths and building heights—using qualitative language like "sustainable" and "livable," often disconnected from measurable outcomes. In contrast, urban economics relies on quantitative analysis rooted in theories and empirical evidence. The author, Alain Bertaud, contends that utilizing urban economics theories in planning can significantly boost city productivity and citizen welfare. He emphasizes that markets are crucial for urban development, illustrating this with examples from pre-reform China and Russia, where the absence of land and labor markets led to inefficiencies. Drawing from five decades of experience across forty cities, Bertaud connects city productivity to labor market size, explores how infrastructure design can align with market needs, and analyzes land price distribution and density. He highlights the significance of mobility and affordability while critiquing land use regulations that focus on redesigning cities rather than addressing negative externalities. Bertaud concludes by proposing a collaborative role for urban planners and economists to enhance urban management.