Edward Glaeser and Green Cities

Another look at Edward Glaeser's provocative new book Triumph of the City, this time by reporter Mary Newsom and with a focus on Glaeser's opinions on the city and the environment.

1 minute read

April 19, 2011, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur

Newsom says that Glaeser's arguments are similar to those posed in David Owen's 2009 book Green Metropolis; namely, that the best way to save the environment is to live in the city:

"...but Glaeser's policy prescriptions are stronger, if less politically practical. As a free-market economist, he supports both London-style congestion pricing, charging motorists a fee to drive in the center city, as well as a carbon tax, as incentives to use resources more efficiently. He is deeply critical of the home mortgage interest deduction and the federal interstate highway system as subsidies for suburban sprawl."

In other ways, says Newsom, Glaeser's environmental analyses are "shallow."

FULL STORY: Triumph of the City

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 in One Earth

Community / Economic Development Environment World Green Metropolis Libertarianism Edward Glaeser View More

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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