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Libertarians and Urbanism

Posted by: Tim Halbur
Thanks to: Stephen Smith
26 August 2010 - 5:00am

Urbanists have rightfully been wary of libertarianism in the past, says Stephen Smith, but a new crop of Jane Jacobs-loving libertarians could change that perception.

Smith writes in reaction to a piece by Melissa Lafsky at The Infrastructurist, who slammed libertarianism as "an enemy of infrastructure." Smith says in his rebuttal:

"At least in North America, every great intracity mass transit system was build by private enterprise, almost without exception. From subways to streetcars, private enterprise showed a willingness and eagerness to build and profit from rail-based transit. Sure, the systems weren't totally private and unregulated (exclusive franchise monopolies were often granted by municipal governments, among other interventions), but the system was far more "private" than the current mostly-suburban road/automobile transportation system that Reason and many other self-identified libertarians champion."

Full Story: Why does the Infrastructurist hate libertarians so much?
Source: Market Urbanism, August 25, 2010
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Ecological theory would suggest a balance, that we, to the health of all concerned, think about with the plants and animals serving one another equally in a dynamic balance slowly changing through evolutionary time.
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