The Chinese have a permit system, hooku system. It keeps people out of cities, but at the same time they pay penalties in terms of benefits and schools for their children. I don't think it's the equivalent of a congestion tax because it doesn't prevent people from coming to cities. The Chinese economy in the city is working based on people not having hookah. If all the people having hookah were kicked out and pushed back in the way they belong in the countryside, the Chinese economy will collapse.
Markets, Alain Bertaud likes to say, are like gravity: they exist everywhere. But while urban planners are quite good at taking gravity into account, they tend to ignore market forces entirely in their designs, resulting in city development that too often fails to address the needs of their residents.
Following the release of his recent book, Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities, Alain joined Tyler in New York City for a discussion of the politics affecting urban centers, his advice to Robert Moses, whether the YIMBY movement can win, why he loves messy cities, what he got wrong about Shenzhen, why the Moscow subway is so wonderful, whether cities can move, favorite movies about cities, the region of the world most likely to start a charter city, how to reform the World Bank, his top three NYC planning reforms, why Central Park is the perfect size, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded September 9th, 2019 Other ways to connect