Conversations with Tyler

Alain Bertaud on Cities, Markets, and People

Sep 25, 2019

Alain Bertaud, a leading urbanist and author of *Order Without Design*, discusses the critical relationship between city planning and market forces. He argues that ignoring markets leads to poorly designed urban spaces. Bertaud shares insights on public transportation in the Moscow subway, reflects on the messy charm of cities, and critiques rent control policies in Dublin. He also envisions new urban developments, suggesting that the future of cities may hinge on adapting to cultural narratives and technological changes.

01:20:26

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Episode guests

Alain Bertaud

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Urban Evolution: Navigating Housing and Development Challenges

20min

Urban Futures: Building New Cities

15min

Navigating Urban Violence and Reform

14min

The Inescapability of Facial Recognition Technology in Urban Environments

2min

The Decline of Hitchhiking and Personal Responsibility

3min

Navigating Success Through Exploration and Resilience

8min

Rethinking Housing Policy in Dublin

12min

The Imperatives of Urban Planning and Governance

4min

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

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