By Zach Weissmueller | Reason
The mass migration of human beings from the country to the city started with the Industrial Revolution. According to the U.N., 2007 was the tipping point when more of humanity lived in urban than rural areas. And the trend continues: A projected two-thirds of the global population will live in cities by 2050.
In the U.S., cities have become remarkably expensive because housing prices have outpaced wage growth. Developers don’t build enough new supply to meet rising demand because a thicket of regulations artificially drive up building costs.
Is the solution more density in the core or more sprawl in the periphery—or both? If governments were to remove the artificial restrictions and incentives that shape the landscape of American cities, how would urban dwellers choose to live?
