What Causes the Housing Crisis?
Housing costs have outrun incomes for decades. The cause is not mysterious: zoning restrictions, NIMBYism, and political economy that systematically blocks new supply. Here is what the research shows.
February 2025
How Urban Planning Works: Zoning, Housing, and the Shape of Cities
How does urban planning work? Explore zoning laws, housing scarcity, Jane Jacobs vs Le Corbusier, Robert Moses, transit-oriented development, and why cities are so expensive to live in.
May 2024
Why Is Housing So Expensive: The Economics of the Global Housing Crisis
Housing has become unaffordable in cities worldwide. Economic research from Glaeser, Gyourko, Hsieh, and Moretti explains why zoning restrictions, NIMBYism, and supply constraints are the primary drivers — and what actually works.
Why Cities Are the Future: The Economics and Culture of Urban Life
Edward Glaeser calls cities humanity's greatest invention. With 68% of the world urbanizing by 2050, explore the economics of agglomeration, the crisis of housing affordability, and what urban design can do for human flourishing.
March 2024
What Is Urban Planning?
Urban planning shapes how cities grow, who benefits from that growth, and who gets displaced. Explore the history from Haussmann to Jane Jacobs, the housing affordability crisis, and the ongoing debates over zoning, transit, and smart cities.
August 2023
Renting vs Buying a Home: What the Numbers Actually Say
The rent vs buy debate settled with math — price-to-rent ratios, the 5% rule, opportunity cost of a down payment, and when buying genuinely makes financial sense.