The Daily Plunge

It’s strange to me that books about the failures of centralized planning are even necessary anymore. The list of government induced problems is so long that it is surprising the public keeps succumbing to the Utopian promises of planners. Thomas Sowell touches on some the problems with “Urban Renewal” or the propaganda term “Smart Growth” in his book Economic Facts and Fallacies, but Randal O’Toole goes into painstaking detail in the Best-Laid Plans. I’m still working my way though O’Toole’s damning assessment of government planning. He starts with an assessment of the Forest Service and then turns the analysis towards city planning. The book should be required for anyone who wants to go into the field of urban planning.

Some see this is a nice place to live, planners see it as evil suburban sprawl.

All of these failed plans come from the same source. Planners promise to solve a problem (either real or imagined) and they make things worse. By the time everyone realizes how bad the plan was, other planners have moved in and compounded the problem. There is no better example in the book than the myth of urban renewal. Call it what you want; city planning, urban renewal, and smart growth are different names for the same thing. Planners are a group of people who think they know better than everyone else. They plan traffic, zoning, and housing for thousands or even millions of citizens. They implement simple plans for complex markets and ignore the externalities.

Most of the time planners prey on the worries of town citizens. “We’re growing too fast, no jobs will be available, and people will starve” they argue. Fear drives concerned citizens to kneel at the alter of city planners. As O’Toole points out “from 1950 to 1970 Santa Clara County, California, grew by 3,500 people per month and their living, employment, shopping, and recreation needs were fully accommodated by private entrepreneurs.” There was no need for planners. It’s not like the United States is running out of space. 95% of the US is undeveloped, and there still a lot of room for growth in major metropolitan areas. Unfortunately, due to city restrictions on growth such as Urban Growth Boundaries (congratulations Sarasota) real estate values are skyrocketing well over the national average.

Many of these plans are designed to created affordable housing. Unfortunately these plans have had the opposite effect. Trying finding affordable housing when the prices are skyrocketing in the city. In a roundabout way “Smart Growth” has become a soft way of segregating the poor from the rich. O’Toole goes further…

Planners either are unaware of these facts are assume that their constituents do not know them. They expect people to fear that unplanned growth will lead to high taxes; worsening traffic congestion; and the destruction of the nation’s last precious farmlands. Like knights in shining armor, planners offer to come to the rescue to prevent these problems. Their solutions just happen to produce higher taxes; worsening traffic congestion, and the reduction of some f the most valuable urban open spaces, namely people’s back yards.

Rolling back a lot of the red tape and regulation would go a long way in making housing more affordable in this country. The percentage of home ownership has stagnated since the 60s, around the same time urban planning started getting out of control. City governments have a role to play… I’m not asking for anarchy. Cities must provide safety, services, roads, and a clean environment.

Sarasota is facing the same problems. City planners have had a hand in creating a real estate environment with unusually high housing costs and it will be difficult for businesses to remain in the city. How do you attract employees to work for your company when they can’t afford to live in the city? Prospective employees aren’t stupid. They’ll just move to a town that’s more affordable. It’s about time “Smart Growth” comes to an end. Otherwise people and jobs will continue to flee urban areas.